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Coming on January 1 - Bible Reading Plan 2011

user@domain.com — 2010-12-31T10:53:54-05:00

Good morning and Happy New Year to each and everyone of you!

Well, January 1, 2011 is right around the corner and that means it's time for our YEARLY BIBLE READING PLAN. This year our community will be following the READING PLAN laid out by the late Reverend Robert Murray M'Cheyne.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne (pronounced, and occasionally spelled as "McCheyne"; (May 1813 – 25 March 1843) was a minister in the Church of Scotland from 1835 to 1843. He was born at Edinburgh, was educated at the University of Edinburgh and at the Divinity Hall of his native city, where he was taught by Thomas Chalmers. He first served as an assistant to John Bonar in the parish of Larbert and Dunipace, near Falkirk, from 1835 to 1838. Thereafter he became forever associated with St. Peter's Church in Dundee, where he served as minister until his early death at the age of 29 during an epidemic of typhus.

This may be the most followed and most well known plan within the orthodox evangelical church. You will find that it covers 4 chapters a day, 2 from the Old Testament and 2 from the New Testament. If you should go to the website tomorrow and look under Bible Reading you will see some instructions for using this plan along with the weekly reading assignments. I plan to go over this in some detail when we launch on January 9. Would you pray with me that others join us in our passionate pursuit to know the Lord Jesus Christ by knowing His word?

The following is a helpful article that I posted on our blog site earlier in the month.

1. The goal is not the goal. I used to think that the purpose of setting goals was to achieve those goals. Makes sense, right? But I’m more inclined now to think that the purpose of setting goals is to create forward momentum. Whether or not I achieve the goal specified is almost immaterial. The act of goal-setting is successful if it moves me forward in a worthwhile endeavor.

I read an article in late 2008 by Karl Rove on his yearly book-reading competition with former President George W. Bush. In 2006 Rove read 110 books to Bush’s 95. The next two years brought two more victories for Rove. What stunned me, though, was the sheer number of books each man consumed.

So I brought it up to Kimberly and challenged her to the same. She trounced me in 2009. I might catch her this year, but if I do I’ll be indebted to Kimberly’s pregnancy, which makes reading a tad dizzying for her. My point? I read more books in 2009 than any year previous, and more books this year than last. I didn’t accomplish the goal of reading more than Kimberly, but the goal created forward momentum towards a worthwhile end.

What difference does it make if you complete a read through the Bible in one year? The goal is not the goal. The goal is a means to the goal, namely, glorifying God through an increased knowledge of and affection for him and his gospel through his word.

Sanctification

user@domain.com — 2010-12-31T08:26:17-05:00

As you reflect back upon 2010

user@domain.com — 2010-12-27T09:05:41-05:00

It seems that the week after Christmas and prior to the new year is a very good time for reflection. So allow me to ask the following questions:

What kind of year was it for you in terms of spiritual growth in Christ?

Do you know Christ better?

Can you say that you relied on Him more in 2010 than in previous years?

Are others around you noticing the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control to name a few?

Have you made it a practice to preach the gospel to yourself daily?

If one of the pastors did a spiritual CAT scan on your 2010 would it reveal a Martha or Mary type of ministry?

Did you find yourself repenting much or little in 2010?

What idol did you continue to kill in 2010 so that it does not kill you?

Was 2010 a year where you still were seeking the approval of others instead of understanding at the cross Christ approves of you 100%?

Charlie Brown finally gets the meaning of Christmas

user@domain.com — 2010-12-24T10:05:56-05:00

(Click on the photo above)

Years ago I was listening in Charlotte to a well known Bible teacher. This person told a great story about the debate he and his wife would have each Christmas regarding TV. They were asked by their first born if he could watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The answer was “NO” until one year they finally relented. After a while they noticed the young lad going to his room with a frown on his face. When asked what was the matter he looked at them and he stated “they never mentioned Jesus.” Well, that young man didn’t stay with the show quite long enough because this is how it ended.

One can never think too much of Christ

user@domain.com — 2010-12-24T09:35:02-05:00

Christ is He who has the keys of death and hell. Christ is the anointed Priest, who alone can absolve sinners. Christ is the fountain of living waters, in whom alone we can be cleansed. Christ is the Prince and Savior, who alone can give repentance and remission of sins. In Him all fullness dwells. He is the way, the door, the light, the life, the Shepherd, the altar of refuge. He that has the Son has life–and he that has not the Son has not life. May we all strive to understand this. No doubt men may easily think too little of God the Father, and God the Spirit, but no man ever thought too much of Christ. ~ J.C. Ryle

Geneology of Jesus

user@domain.com — 2010-12-24T08:35:37-05:00

A God-centered theology

user@domain.com — 2010-12-24T08:08:31-05:00

From the Resurgence Blog Site
Most Christians can look back and describe the day they “accepted Christ.” This may have been some sort of physical act—a silent prayer, a walk down an aisle, a stick thrown into the fire to mark our new allegiance.

But the longer I have been a pastor the more “accepting Christ” rings hollow. To me it sounds more and more like a work—something we do to earn the favor of God. It’s a commitment, but that doesn’t mean there is faith. A gap exists between us accepting Christ and Christ accepting us.

Trust God's work, not your own
Good works do not please or appease him. Our favor with him is based on our trust in his work, not ours. And is that not what most exhortations to accept Christ mean? “Make a commitment and God will save you.” Not so subtly, we have preached commitment as salvation. And, then, even worse, growing in our walk with Jesus is reaching ever-higher planes of commitment.

Commitment is a result of salvation. Devotion to Christ flows from belief, not from volition. It is an act of heart, not will. Is it no wonder then, so many question their salvation? They question because they think their justification with God is based on commitment, and when their commitment wanes, they sense they might not really be a Christian. They are counting on their commitment to save them, not Jesus.

Woe to those who are deeply committed and blameless in their devotion—for, except by grace, they will never see their grand mistake. Do not put your hope in the fact that you have accepted Christ. Hope in the fact that Christ has accepted you.

Bible Reading Plan advice

user@domain.com — 2010-12-21T13:36:52-05:00

If you’re planning to try again in 2011, let me offer a few thoughts that may serve you on your way.

1. The goal is not the goal. I used to think that the purpose of setting goals was to achieve those goals. Makes sense, right? But I’m more inclined now to think that the purpose of setting goals is to create forward momentum. Whether or not I achieve the goal specified is almost immaterial. The act of goal-setting is successful if it moves me forward in a worthwhile endeavor.

I read an article in late 2008 by Karl Rove on his yearly book-reading competition with former President George W. Bush. In 2006 Rove read 110 books to Bush’s 95. The next two years brought two more victories for Rove. What stunned me, though, was the sheer number of books each man consumed.

So I brought it up to Kimberly and challenged her to the same. She trounced me in 2009. I might catch her this year, but if I do I’ll be indebted to Kimberly’s pregnancy, which makes reading a tad dizzying for her. My point? I read more books in 2009 than any year previous, and more books this year than last. I didn’t accomplish the goal of reading more than Kimberly, but the goal created forward momentum towards a worthwhile end.

What difference does it make if you complete a read through the Bible in one year? The goal is not the goal. The goal is a means to the goal, namely, glorifying God through an increased knowledge of and affection for him and his gospel through his word.

2. Read different translations. A friend gave me this idea many years ago. He said that reading a wide variety of versions (from formal to paraphrase) would help me see things in Scripture that I wouldn’t notice if I read the same translation over and over. He was right. The first version I read through in a year was God’s Word to the Nations, a very simple translation. There were many times that the way GWN phrased something would direct me back to other translations and ultimately enhanced my understanding of Scripture.

Seeker Sensitive or Scripture Sensitive

user@domain.com — 2010-12-21T09:24:00-05:00

Listen!

He knows what you've been tweeting...

user@domain.com — 2010-12-21T05:34:22-05:00

Diligence in Grace

user@domain.com — 2010-12-21T04:05:50-05:00

All that believers have is undoubtedly of grace. Their repentance, faith, and holiness, are all the gift of God. But the degree to which a believer attains in grace, is ever set before us as closely connected with his own diligence in the use of means, and his own faithfulness in living fully up to the light and knowledge which he possesses. Indolence and laziness are always discouraged in God’s word. Labor and pains in hearing, reading, and prayer, are always represented as bringing their own reward. “The soul of the diligent shall be made fat.” (Prov. 13:4.) “An idle soul shall suffer hunger.” (Prov. 19:15.) ~ J.C. Ryle

Review for December 19

user@domain.com — 2010-12-19T17:23:12-05:00

Since this was our last time together in 2010 I decided to bring a Bible devotion. I titled it “The Christmas Story and The glory of God.” However as I said in class today it could have been as easily called “The Christmas story and The doctrines of God.” We read from Luke 2:1-20 and I made the following 5 observations regarding this particular text.

Observation #1 - Jesus comes at the right time
Observation #2 - Jesus comes at the right place
Observation #3 - The manner in which Jesus comes
Observation #4 - The reason Jesus comes
Observation #5 - The response to when Jesus comes

Jesus comes at the right time
At the end of Luke chapter 1 verse 80 the curtain falls on the life of John the Baptist. And we don't know anything more than he was circumcised on the 8th day till his public ministry in the wilderness of Judea. But we do know that God was preparing John the Baptist to be the forerunner to prepare the way for Jesus Christ.

The curtain now rises on the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is going to be a birth not like any other birth. It will divide history into BC which means before Christ and AD which means “year of our Lord.” And not only will HIs perfect time of arrival divide the way we mark time on our calendars but it will divide the following:
Truth/Error
Sheep/Goats
Wheat/Tares
Believer/non believer
God is the Father/the devil is the father
Light/Darkness
Life/Death
In Christ/in Adam

The Christmas story and the glory of God

user@domain.com — 2010-12-18T09:52:08-05:00

Can you believe we are coming to the end of 2010? I posted on the website this week the first entry I made for 2010, click on this LINK. It starts with a prayerful challenge and ends with a hopeful summary of what the 2010 year might look like as we mature in Christ.

What kind of year has it been for you spiritually?
Are you engaged in a rich and deep worship of God not just on Sunday but during the week?
Do you know the Lord Jesus in such a way, that you are passionately pursuing Him through the word?
Is your life marked by the power of the Spirit in dealing with family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and those in the church community?
In other words, when people leave your presence are they consistently seeing a demonstration of the greatness of the Lord Jesus?

We have been studying the "glory of God' through the Bible based on the following outline;
1. God purpose
2. Man's problem
3. God's provision
4. Man's priority

In the last couple of weeks I have emphasized the first two points in this outline but tomorrow I plan to focus on God's provision. What better way to do this than through the Christmas story given to us in Luke 2:1:20. Therefore, I want to encourage you to pray (preparation of the heart), read (renewing the mind), and devote on (set your minds on things above), these verses as they relate to the glory of God.

For you information this will be our last SS class until January 9, 2011.

Hope to see you all tomorrow, blessings in Christ and Merry Christmas,

How we began 2010, so how did we finish...

user@domain.com — 2010-12-16T11:13:30-05:00

The Challenge when we started in January 2010
God the Father, who is holy, righteous, just, omnipresent, omniscient, self-sufficient and eternal has made a way for man to be in fellowship with Him forever and ever. This is man whose heart is evil and desperately wicked, who has done nothing but rebel against God from day one, who doesn't seek God or what anything to do with God and is at constant enmity with God. So how can this kind of man who is sinful, unholy, deceitful and undeserving stand in the presence of this God without being immediately condemned, judged and cast into an eternal fiery hell? It is because of the gift of God the Father which was His Son Jesus Christ. And in that gift God made a way through the death of Christ on the cross for our sins to be paid in full and for the righteousness of Christ to be credited to our personal accounts. My brothers and sisters in Christ, this must be meditated on daily so that we can be receivers of this amazing grace. Keep in mind there is no doing at this point there is only receiving. And the receiving is based on an external event that is an objective historical fact which is the death of Christ on a cross. As this grace falls on your heart and mind, God gifts a measure of faith which becomes the instrument that allows us to REPENT and BELIEVE. We then become a community of believers that receive grace daily as is falls into our lives based on the person and work of Christ, joy starts to rise in our affections toward God and the outworking becomes our love toward others. But I want you to see that it is the vertical relationship that drives the horizontal relationships and not vice versa. When you come into the 2010 year and do a spiritual evaluation and find many of the horizontal aspects of your life missing such as giving, serving, and fellowshipping, the key is to get back to the cross! Because as grace starts to be meditated on and embraced, then a joy for God will rise up and leads to an overflow of love for others in the horizontal sense.

The Summary
Don't make the 2010 year primarily about what you do but a year to mediate, pray and study about what has been done for you by Christ at the cross.
This is called making sure that you don't put the imperatives (the commands of Scripture) ahead of the indicatives (the reality in Scripture of what Christ accomplished on the cross). If you need a quick refresher on this just click on this LINK.

John MacArthur Q and A

user@domain.com — 2010-12-16T10:11:07-05:00

The one who takes the Son...

user@domain.com — 2010-12-16T08:40:45-05:00

This came from the Puritan Fellowship blog site and is what they currently use as their evangelism tract.

There was a famous painter who had a son. Father and son often painted together and were each other's inspiration. When World War I erupted, the son was sent to fight in the war, and was killed. When the father heard of his son's death, he was distraught, the grief tearing him into a thousand pieces. He became a shell of his former self and spent years limping through life.

One day the father heard a knock at the door and opened to find a young soldier standing there who, breaking out in tears said, "Sir, I am the reason your son died."
The father replied, "Well, what do you mean?"
The soldier said, "I was in front of a rifleman, and as the gun went off your son threw himself in front of me and died in my place. I am so sorry, but I want you to know that I esteem your son above all things and all people." He continued, "Look sir, I always wanted to learn to draw, and while we were in the foxholes your son tutored me. I know you're a famous painter and I'm just beginning to learn, but I painted this picture of your son and he means so much to me that I would really appreciate it if you would take this picture."
The father said, "Of course I will!" So the father took the painting of his son and, despite its crudeness, framed it in the best frame he could find and gave it the centre place in his gallery.

The importance of God's word

user@domain.com — 2010-12-15T17:11:41-05:00

What is more important to man than God? He is everything. To know God is the primary, pre eminent pursuit of any human. And how is he, man, to study, to know God? God has shut Himself up, as it were, or limited Himself in His revelation to mankind through the channel of the written Word of God The Bible. This is the only authentic, true text to which we may turn. Anything God has of Himself or His blessings comes from Himself immediately, directly, and only to a human being through this book, God's Word. Consequently, to know God is to know the Bible; to know the Bible is to know God. If God is all important, then His Word is all important. In other words, The Word of God is as important as God Himself. As far as mankind is concerned, this is true. A hunger for God will mean, must mean, a hunger for the Word of God. Therefore, one must immediately realize if God's Word is as important as God Himself (for by it we can know and understand God), then how we interpret God's Word is just as important as God's Word. We must know exactly what it says so that we may know exactly what God says! - Buck Hatch, former professor at Columbia Bible College

New Bible Reading Plan coming January 1

user@domain.com — 2010-12-15T12:24:21-05:00

Don't be deceived...

user@domain.com — 2010-12-15T06:33:52-05:00

Let it be a settled principle with us, never to be satisfied with mere outward church-membership. We may be inside the net, and yet not be in Christ. The waters of baptism are poured on myriads who are never washed in the water of life. The bread and wine are eaten and drunk by thousands at the Lord’s table, who never feed on Christ by faith. Are we converted? Are we among the “good fish?” This is the grand question. It is one which must be answered at last. The net will soon be “drawn to shore.” The true character of every man’s religion will at length be exposed. There will be an eternal separation between the good fish and the bad. There will be a “furnace of fire” for the wicked. ~ J.C. Ryle

Bible Reading Plans

user@domain.com — 2010-12-15T05:52:53-05:00

f you’re looking for a systematic plan to read the Bible in the new year, here are a few from which to choose. There’s a wide variety in these schedules: some take you through the whole Bible in a year, some are associated with devotional reading, and one follows the church liturgical calendar.

1. The 5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan. This comes from the Navigators who have developed a strategy for beginners, so to speak. The plan takes the reader through the entire New Testament in a year, and requires five minutes a day, five days per week. The third “five” refers to its “five ways to dig deeper”: underline key words, put the passage in your own words, ask and answer some questions, capture the big idea, and personalize the meaning.

If you are not regularly reading the Bible, this is a great plan to get you started. I also recommend it for parents to disciple their children in this discipline. (My former pastor, Dan Brooks, and his wife found it an effective strategy with their kids.) You can download the pdf here.

2. The Daily Office Lectionary from the Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer has guided Christians in the systematic reading of the Bible for centuries. The Daily Office Lectionary offers select portions from all over the Scriptures, with special emphasis on the Psalms, Isaiah, and the New Testament. Crossway has made the Lectionary readings available each day on its website; you can also subscribe to its RSS feed or iCal format (plus Google Calendar, Outlook, etc.).

The practice of reading the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-12-14T09:26:27-05:00

Now that we’ve talked about the Word as a means of grace, our inclination to legalism, and some ways to prepare our hearts to read the Scriptures, let’s consider the practice of reading the Bible itself.

1. You don’t need a special place and time. There are certainly advantages to having a designated place and time for Scripture reading and prayer. That discipline is generally good. My problem, however, is that if I don’t get to my special place at exactly the right time, I feel as if it would be unprofitable to read the Bible anytime anywhere. (Yes, here again is the arrogant perfectionist within!) I must ask myself which is the better alternative: to skip reading the Bible altogether because I missed my time or place, or to spend some time somewhere in the Word? As helpful as it is to have a set time and place, the reality is you will have days, perhaps many days, when getting to that place at that time will be impossible. Keep your time-and-place discipline if you desire, but learn to be flexible. Because of the Spirit, God is present whenever and wherever you are.

2. When you see legalism in your heart, repent. When I recognize self-righteous or self-justfying thoughts, my tendency is to work harder to push them out, as if they were coming from without. Far more profitable would it be for me to recognize them as arising from within, expressing the waywardness of my own heart, and take them directly to the cross. Don’t let the possibility of legalism paralyze you; let your sin drive you to your Savior.

3. While you read, see yourself in the sinners of the passage. This is a great strategy to fight self-righteousness. We tend to read the Bible identifying with the heroes. We read the story of David and Goliath and see ourselves as Davids in the world, needing just a bit more faith to be able to face our giants. We read the account of Jacob’s sons and see ourselves as Josephs, being mistreated by those around us and awaiting the day when everything is set right. Reading the Bible this way feeds self-righteousness in our hearts, even if we admit that we’re not very much like David or Joseph right now. At root may lie a belief that if I work hard enough, I can be.

Preparing to read the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-12-13T14:55:58-05:00

The temptation to self-righteousness is strong, and yet we know it should not keep us from actually sitting down and reading the Bible. So what steps can we take to confront our sin, harness our minds, and hear the Word?

1. Pray Piper’s IOUS. John Piper uses acronyms for a variety of purposes (e.g., APTAT for prayer, ANTHEM for fighting lust). But the one that has been most helpful for me is IOUS. This is a simple way to remember four biblical prayers as we approach the Word:

Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain (Ps 119.36)
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things out of your law (Ps 119.18)
Unite my heart to fear your name (Ps 86.11)
Satisfy me with your steadfast love that I may rejoice and be glad all my days (Ps 90.14)
I’ve found this to be a helpful series of prayers with which to begin a day. They remind me that I’ve awoken (a) inclined towards self-centeredness, (b) unable to see reality, (c) distracted and scatterbrained, and (d) empty–and that the answer to every longing in my heart is found in the gospel. These aren’t magical words, but they verbalize our dependence on God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

2. Sing a song or two. Another favorite preacher of mine, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, said that he would begin each day by singing a couple of hymns in order to “rouse his soul” to worship God. I’ve found this to be an extremely helpful practice, more helpful than simply listening to music while reading. There’s something about internalizing the words of a song and directing those songs heavenward that helps orient my heart with reality. My favorite hymnal for this purpose is Psalms and Hymns of Reformed Worship, from the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. My copy is text-only, but you can purchase one with tunes. Fred Coleman, who first commended this practice to me, plans to release a hymnal next year whose specific purpose is to assist the believer’s personal devotion to Christ.

We need to understand the language of the gospel

user@domain.com — 2010-12-13T14:06:16-05:00

Natively, the gospel is a foreign language to us and we need to learn that the grammar of the gospel is shaped by the gospel itself. He noted how hard it is for us as Americans to learn Latin. The verbs go at the end end. We are a doing community and it’s hard for us to put the “doing” at the end. But the gospel teaches us to put our doing word at the end and Jesus’ doing word at the beginning—but our native tendency is to drag back the doing word and put it at the beginning, and then top that up with Jesus’ doing, just to make life a little better.

There’s a very clear grammar, he said, in the gospel. . . .

The Mood of the Gospel

We need to learn that the grammar of the gospel has its appropriate mood.

In our languages today we speak in the indicative mood and the imperative mood. The indicative mood is saying these are the things that are true. The imperative mood is saying these are things you need to do. And in the gospel, the structure of the grammar is always indicative gives rise to imperative. . . .

The Tense of the Gospel

There’s also a tense of the gospel: the present is to be rooted in the past. You need to go backward to what Christ has done in order to go forward in what you are to do. There is an emphasis of the already and the mopping-up operation of the not-yet.

The Prepositions of the Gospel

Do you remember how Paul uses prepositions in Galatians 2:20-21, where in a few words he summarizes the work of Christ:

The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me;
and therefore I am crucified with Christ;
nevertheless, I live, but not I; Christ lives in me.

The doctrine of God

user@domain.com — 2010-12-13T13:43:33-05:00

Review for December 12

user@domain.com — 2010-12-13T05:11:12-05:00

Yesterday we continued in our study of “the glory of God.” This is a critical doctrine to understand because the glory of God is the very theme of the entire Bible. I have said this before and will say it again. The goal of this class is NOT to go through the curriculum but instead have this curriculum go through us! Therefore next week we will continue to bath, immerse and saturate ourselves in the glory of God.

In any one week there are many things that take place in my life and in the life of those in our class. Pat and I try and summarize so of the key things that we want to make our community aware of during the year. In yesterday’s class I covered the following:

1. The CaringBridge site that has been recently formed for our brother John Pugh. If you want to go to this site then simply click on this LINK and follow the directions.

2. We begin a new Bible reading plan for 2011 on January 1. Therefore I am including a six article series on Bible reading as we start into the new year. In yesterday’s class read the first article that was posted last week. If you would like to read it then just click on this LINK.

3. I also gave a graphic preview of the next doctrine we are going to study which will be the doctrine of man. If you weren’t in class yesterday then as they say a picture is worth a thousand words so click on this LINK.

Understanding gospel centered living

user@domain.com — 2010-12-12T19:46:35-05:00

Here is a great article from Tullian Tchividjian that will encourage you in what it means to live a gospel-centered life.

I’m ecstatic about the resurgence of gospel centrality taking place in the evangelical church. The idea that the gospel is not only for those outside the church but also for those inside the church; that it not only ignites the Christian life but is the fuel that keeps Christians going and growing every day, may seem like a new idea, but it’s really old. I’m glad it’s re-gaining traction, but as far as we’ve come, we need to go further.

For all the talk of gospel-centeredness, there’s still some fear and trepidation fueled by a common misunderstanding regarding the radical nature of grace. Even amongst the proponents of gospel-centrality, I still hear talk about there being two equal dangers that Christians must avoid: legalism and lawlessness.

Legalism, they say, happens when you focus too much on law, or rules. Lawlessness, they say, happens when you focus too much on grace. Therefore, in order to maintain spiritual equilibrium, you have to balance law and grace. Sometimes, legalism and lawlessness are presented as two ditches on either side of the gospel that we must avoid. If you start getting too much law, you need to balance it with grace. If you start getting too much grace, you need to balance it with law. But I’ve come to believe that this “balanced” way of framing the issue can unwittingly keep us from really understanding the gospel of grace in all of its radical depth and beauty.

It’s more theologically accurate to say that there is one primary enemy of the gospel—legalism—but it comes in two forms. Some people avoid the gospel and try to “save” themselves by keeping the rules, doing what they’re told, maintaining the standards, and so on (you could call this “front-door legalism”).

Other people avoid the gospel and try to “save” themselves by breaking the rules, doing whatever they want, developing their own autonomous standards, and so on (you could call this “back-door legalism”).

In other words, there are two “laws” we can choose to live by other than Christ: the law which says “I can find freedom and fullness of life if I keep the rules” or the law which says “I can find freedom and fullness of life if I break the rules.” Either way you’re still trying to “save” yourself—which means both are legalistic because both are self-salvation projects.

The Glory of God

user@domain.com — 2010-12-11T16:45:14-05:00

Class in the morning will be totally focused on the glory of God. First I plan to take us through a 4 step process in evaluating this from the Bible.

1. His Purpose

Numbers 14:21 As I live, all the earth will be filled with the Glory of God.

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.

Psalm 72:19 Blessed be His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory!

Romans 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

2. Our Problem

We don't exhibit God's Glory in our lives which is the essence of sin.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and are (continually) falling short of the Glory of God.

3. His Provision

God has provided The Lord Jesus for our need ‑ our falling short of His Glory.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...and we beheld His Glory.

Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of His Glory, the exact representation of His nature.

John 17:22 And the Glory which Thou hast given to Me I have given to them.

Luke 2: 32 Simeon took Him in his arms and said, A light of Revelation to the gentiles, and the Glory of Thy people Israel.

NOT a prayer of salvation

user@domain.com — 2010-12-11T16:30:07-05:00

I was ministering to a gentlemen years ago who didn’t know if he was saved. When I asked him to tell me about his conversion he told me a story similar to the prayer in this video. There is nothing in this prayer that indicates a receiving of Christ and His death on the cross to pay for sin. It is a very general, if you are up there somewhere then help me out down here because I am in trouble. How often have we prayed this way, instead of praying Lord use this hard thing in my life to show your glory!

Survey says...

user@domain.com — 2010-12-11T11:12:34-05:00

Recently I listened to a program from the White Horse Inn that provided a number of surveys taken from fellow Christians. I thought you might find these audio clips interesting in light of our ongoing study of Bible doctrine.

Here are responses to the following statements:
1. The most important task of the church today is the transformation of culture. Click on this LINK

2. We need to make church more entertaining and relevant in order to appeal to the culture. Click on this LINK

3. The most important thing we need to communicate to our kids is that God is always there when they need Him? Click on this LINK

4. Christians should see the church as a resource provider and themselves as self feeders who make use of those resources. Click on this LINK

5. Since kids are bored with content generated lessons, so youth workers need to attract them with new and exciting things. Click on this LINK

6. The most important way of converting non Christians is to preach the gospel and with the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper. Click LINK

7. It is more important to be the gospel rather than to preach the gospel to others. Click on this LINK

We are saved from sin...

user@domain.com — 2010-12-11T09:43:31-05:00

Do you think of salvation primarily in terms of what you are saved from? The apostle Paul uses the word save in Romans about 75% in the future tense. If you are wondering why, it is because he wants to make sure you and I know that we are saved from sin and God’s wrath. We spend so much time convincing people of God’s love that we rarely mention God’s wrath. I was recently sent this picture from someone in our class. There is great theology in this sign.

Dangers within

user@domain.com — 2010-12-11T08:14:22-05:00

This is a series from Matthew Hoskinson on Bible Reading for 2011

Let’s start with our idol-manufacturing hearts. What specific temptations confront us when we approach the Word? Here are a few that I regularly face.

1. I use the Bible like a vending machine. There’s something in the box that I want (peace, joy, emotional release, whatever), so I must put in enough coins (minutes, chapters, devotion) to get what I want. This line of thinking perverts the idea of the Word as a means of grace, similar to the Roman ex opere operato view of the sacraments. It works because it was performed–or, “read your Bible, pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow.” But the Scriptures are a means of grace when we read it with faith in the One they reveal.The Westminster Larger Catechism puts it this way:

The Holy Scriptures are to be read with a high and reverent esteem of them; with a firm persuasion that they are the very Word of God and that He only can enable us to understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them; with diligence and attention to the matter and scope of them; with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer (Q157).

2. I use the Bible to manipulate God. This sounds so ridiculous, doesn’t it? And yet we fall to this temptation all the time. We think that our consistent devotion merits freedom from fear and want, from sorrow and discomfort.

Steve Johnson, a wide receiver on the Buffalo Bills, received a lot of attention this week for dropping a potentially game-winning pass in the end zone and then blaming God. After the game he tweeted, “I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!! AND THIS IS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO…”

I don’t mention Johnson in order to castigate him, but to point out that we are all alike. How many chapters of the Bible have been read, how many prayers have been prayed, in a vain attempt to get God to do what we want him to do? We view God the same way Elijah’s opponents viewed Baal. Give him what he wants, and he’ll give us what we want. Let’s pray for grace to identify this sin whenever it arises in our hearts.

Coming to a SS Community near you

user@domain.com — 2010-12-10T21:18:42-05:00

Bible Reading 2011

user@domain.com — 2010-12-10T17:48:05-05:00

We at Learning and Living go to the four corners of the earth to find you the best blog articles for spiritual growth and development. Therefore over the next few days I will be posting a series from Matthew Hoskinson that includes the following topics:

Reading the Bible in 2011
Dangers Within
Sitting Down
Reading
Plans
Final Thoughts

With the arrival of December come thoughts about next year and those dreaded new year’s resolutions. A frequent commitment that Christians make is to read the Bible through in a year. Yet many (most?) fail in this endeavor at least once in their lives. Such failure has led some to abandon the practice altogether, perhaps even to write it off as an altogether legalistic practice.

But this post really isn’t about reading the Bible in a year. It’s simply about reading the Bible. Believers recognize that the Word is a means of grace (Acts 20.32), that we cannot live on bread alone but by the very words of God (Mt 4.4). But once we get on a plan, the temptation to legalism is strong.

I’ve wrestled with this issue for most of my Christian walk–and still do! I’ll feel better about myself for sticking to a Bible reading plan and figure that God must hate me when I miss a day. Self-righteousness rises when I’m following a plan (“Oh, those poor Christians who aren’t as diligent as I! If only they knew how important the Word is! I thank you that I am not like them.”). And self-righteousness rises when I’m not on a plan (“Oh, those poor Christians who are legalistically enslaved to a schedule! If only they knew what grace meant! I thank you that I am not like them.”)

So the Scriptures are a means of grace that we transform into a stage for our self-justifying nature. Because of the nature of the Word we would be wise (obedient!) to attend to it, perhaps including a systematic plan for reading it. But because of the nature of indwelling sin we must guard against the Pharisee within. How do we handle this dilemma? Over the next few days I’ll share some thoughts that may serve you as you give yourself to the Scriptures next year.

CaringBridge site for John Pugh

user@domain.com — 2010-12-10T15:37:54-05:00

There is now a CarinBridge site for our brother John Pugh. Just click on this LINK and follow the directions. The first screen is the one shown below. Fill in your email and then you will create a user name and password. After that you will be at the site for John that contains the latest information on his health as of today.

Homework and Class Update

user@domain.com — 2010-12-10T13:10:41-05:00

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and yes there is homework in our Learning and Living the God-centered life community. For those of you that want to preview the notes you can do so by CLICKING ON THIS LINK. As you have heard me say from almost day one the theme of the Bible is the glory of God.
If we are going to live in that manner then we certainly need to study, understand and learn what it means - right? Well, during our time together Sunday my goal will be to cover as many of the glory of God texts as we can get through within our time constraints.

Listen!

Christ has fulfilled every demand

user@domain.com — 2010-12-10T10:31:23-05:00

If the Lord Jesus Christ had not literally risen physically from the grave, we could never be certain that he had ever really finished the work. If he has died for our sins, we must not only be certain that he has died, but that he has finished dying, and that there is no longer death. When God raised his Son from the dead, he was proclaiming to the whole world, I am satisfied in him: I am satisfied in the work he has done. He has done everything. He has fulfilled every demand. Here he is risen—therefore I am satisfied with him.

Not only that. The Resurrection proved that he has conquered every enemy that was opposed to him, to God, and to us. He has not only satisfied the law and conquered death and the grave, he has vanquished the devil and all his forces, and hell and all the principalities and powers of evil. He has triumphed over them all, and he proves it in the Resurrection. The devil cannot hold him; death and hell cannot hold him. He has mastered them all; he has emerged on the other side. He is the Son of God, and he has completed the work which the Father had sent him to do. - Martyn Lloyd Jones

Flash Mob sings Hallelujah Chorus

user@domain.com — 2010-12-10T09:41:30-05:00

If you don’t get out much (that includes me) then flash mob might be a new term for you. Anyway here is an example of a “FLASH MOB” at a local food court that break out in the Hallelujah Chorus. By this time, many of you have seen this but for those who haven’t it is priceless.
Enjoy and “MERRY CHRISTMAS.”

Preparing the heart for the glory of God

user@domain.com — 2010-12-10T08:59:44-05:00

This Sunday we continue in our study of the glory of God. May I encourage you to PREVIEW the notes by clicking on this LINK.

My plan is to start on page 14 as we look together at:

1. The PURPOSE of His glory
2. Our PROBLEM in relationship to His glory
3. His PROVISION for our glory
4. Our PRIORITY of His glory

The attribute of God's glory is critical for us to study and understand because this is the very THEME of the entire Bible. Doesn't it make sense that if the glory of God is the theme of the Bible, then this very thing should be the theme of our lives? As we study the doctrine of God's glory, my recommendation is that you underline and write the word GLORY in the margins of your Bible. Don't be passive in this study become proactive. READ the Scriptures that are referenced in the notes, THINK about how they speak of God's glory, PRAY that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes and LIVE in a way that demonstrates the greatness of the Lord Jesus.

Notice in the gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, the glory of God is mentioned twice in these verses regarding the birth of Jesus Christ.

Luke 2:6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:8 ¶ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
Luke 2:11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest,

Hosea 11:1-4 and the gospel of Matthew

user@domain.com — 2010-12-09T08:02:20-05:00

The key to proper study of the Scriptures is to understand the overall plan of the Bible. Over the years I have observed and talked with many frustrated in their Bible study, reading and devotion because they simply don’t see the big picture. The illustration I like to use is getting a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and putting it out on the cardboard table. For many the Bible is just like those thousand pieces and how they go together is but a mystery. Therefore the strategy I think that is best to implore is two-fold. First get the border established which in this analogy will be the essential doctrines of the Bible.
1. Doctrine of the Word
2. Doctrine of God
3. Doctrine of man
4. Doctrine of Christ
5. Doctrine of the Spirit
6. Doctrine of salvation

Second, we need to have a plan which I call the box top of the jigsaw puzzle. The plan can be described in 4 words.
1. Creation
2. Fall
3. Redemption
4. Restoration

I like to say that the plan of the entire Bible is “the unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind by God.” Therefore once a person can understand the plan and have the border in place then they are best equipped to study the Bible.

In this post I am going to share with you what Kevin DeYoung writes concerning the connection between Hosea 11:1-4 and the Matthew’s gospel. The reason is because you need to see how the connection exists between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Remember what Jesus told the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

So my question in this article is how are we to see Jesus and make a proper interpretation of Matthew 2:15 that cross references Hosea 11:1-4?

We have not because we ask not...

user@domain.com — 2010-12-09T07:30:54-05:00

The Lord Jesus is far more ready to hear than we are to pray, and far more ready to give favors than we are to ask them. All day long He stretches out His hands to the disobedient and gainsaying. He has thoughts of pity and compassion towards the vilest of sinners, even when they have no thoughts of Him. He stands waiting to bestow mercy and grace on the worst and most unworthy, if they will only cry to Him. - J.C. Ryle

Market-Driven Christianity

user@domain.com — 2010-12-08T08:30:41-05:00

by Dan Fortner, from Grace Gems.org

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men–or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men–I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

Religion in America is big business. Scads of money, powerful personalities, huge egos, and positions of prominence, influence, and recognition are at stake in the business of religion, just as they are in any other business. There was a time when the concern of churches and preachers in this country was the glory of God and the truth of God. Today, like any business, the concern is for success.

Christianity today is market-driven. The goal of all marketing is to make both the buyer and the seller satisfied. Consequently, market-driven churches, in utter abandonment of God’s glory and God’s truth, in their insatiable quest for success and recognition–do whatever it takes to win customers and keep them.

Be warned! False doctrine and worldliness always go hand in hand. Worldliness usually leads the way. The early modernists did not aim at destroying biblical Christianity. They simply tried to make Christianity palatable to an unbelieving world. It cannot be done. When Christianity becomes acceptable to unregenerate people–it has ceased to be Christianity!

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing!" 1 Corinthians 1:18

Gospel-centered praying

user@domain.com — 2010-12-06T10:04:24-05:00

A prayer from Pastor Scotty Smith

Dear Lord Jesus,

While I still believe, with all my heart, you are the only Savior, I now see how more of my heart needs more of you and more of the gospel.

There is nobody on the face of the earth that needs the gospel today, and its transforming resources, more than me, and I am SO glad to be able to acknowledge this reality. I need you today, Jesus, as much as I did when you washed away all my sins and covered me with the robe of your righteousness.

You have saved me in the past, when I was justified by grace alone through faith alone; you are saving me in the present, as the Holy Spirit applies more and more of your finished work to my whole being; and you will save me in the future, when you return to finish making all things new, including ME!

Lord Jesus, though I’m never tempted to look to any other name for my justification, I am very tempted to look to other names and means for my transformation—worse of all, is when I look to me to be my own savior. But only you, Jesus, are able to save completely those who come to God through you, for you are always living to pray for us and to advocate for us (Heb 7:25). You are my righteousness, holiness and redemption, and that’s why I only boast in you today! (1 Cor. 1:30-31)

So I come to you today, Jesus, right now! Save me more fully from my fear of man, my need to be in control, my ticky-tacky pettiness. Save me from trying to be anybody’s savior. I want to get irritated far less often and to be spontaneous much more often. I want to “light up” more quickly when I hear your name, Jesus, and not be downcast, when I don’t hear my name.

That’s more than enough confession for one day… Indeed, Jesus, I must be saved, I am being saved, through your name alone. Hallelujah!

Preview for December 5

user@domain.com — 2010-12-06T08:38:06-05:00

We are moving from the incommunicable attributes to the communicable attributes in our teaching regarding the doctrine of God. The first incommunicable attribute that we are covering is the glory of God, which happens to be the theme for the entire Bible. The way I teach doctrine and learn doctrine is to first of all get a definition, then an illustration where possible, and finally Scriptural support for the doctrine. Over the past two years I have touched on the glory of God from time to time. But now we are ready to go scuba diving in our study this doctrine. I am going to post all the study notes on the website so that you can review from yesterday and also preview what I will be teaching next week. In addition I would like to give you an assignment that goes along with your Bible reading. When we start the new Bible reading plan in January I want you to note each time the "glory of God" is mentioned from Genesis to Revelation. All you need to do is put glory in the margin of your Bible. I think you are going to be amazed how many times this is revealed throughout the Bible.

The study in the glory of God will never be something you move beyond, but further into as you continue growing in the Christian life. As I pointed out yesterday the focal point of God's glory can be seen at the cross. Look again with me at Romans 3:25-26:
Rom. 3:25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
Rom. 3:26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

What are the chief characteristics of a humble man?

user@domain.com — 2010-12-02T15:38:26-05:00

1) A humble person, no matter how much spiritual growth, he never forgets his former sinfulness and his outward, undeserving commonness.

2) A humble person overlooks his own righteousness, and looks and lives upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone.

3) For a humble person no work or service is “too beneath” or “too humbling” for him.

4) A humble heart will submit to every truth of God that is made known (revealed) to it; even to those truths that most offend.

5) A humble person lives not upon Himself, but upon the sufficiency of Christ alone.

6) A humble person prizes the least of Christ: the least smile, the least good word from him, the least good mercy from him, etc. She is thankful for a crumb from the table if she cannot get all of the Manna.

7) The humble heart can never be content to pray enough, hear enough, mourn enough, believe enough, love enough, fear God enough, joy enough, repent enough, loathe sin enough, nor be humble enough!

8) A humble person seeks to smite and mortify both great and “small” sins.

9) A humble person quietly bears burdens and takes blows, and will receive disrespect and dishonor and make no noise.

10) A humble heart withdraws all strength and credit from Christ alone.

We must hate sin

user@domain.com — 2010-12-01T09:00:18-05:00

How incredible it is that we do not hate sin more than we do! Sin is the cause of all the pain and disease in the world. God did not create man to be an ailing and suffering creature. It was sin, and nothing but sin, which brought in all the ills that flesh is heir to. It was sin to which we owe every racking pain, and every loathsome infirmity, and every humbling weakness to which our poor bodies are liable. Let us keep this ever in mind. Let us hate sin with a godly hatred. ~ J.C. Ryle

Review for November 28

user@domain.com — 2010-12-01T08:39:46-05:00

Nancy and I have been gone for two straight weeks so today was “Catch Up Sunday.” The catch up involved four specific areas:
1. Our trip to Los Angeles to visit Grace Community Church where Dr. John MacArthur is the pastor.
2. The Men’s Bible Study that meets on Tuesday night and the next three weeks, in which I cover “the sovereignty of God in our redemption.” We will be studying in Romans Chapter 9.
3. Retreat 2011 with Dr. Bruce Ware and why this is so important from Matthew 24. Also 5 essential doctrines in the American Evangelical Church and how they are getting twisted and distorted today This retreat could be a watershed weekend for many in our class. Therefore I am going to invest time encouraging those who attend our class to participate.
4. The transition from the incommunicable attributes to the communicable attributes. We started on the importance of the glory of God. And next week we are going to bring definition, Scriptural support and explanation to this important attribute.

SBS Class November 282010 Glory1

Video from Dr. John MacArthur’s Church we visited while in LA - click on this LINK

If you want to listen to the audio from today’s class - click on this LINK

Are you thirsty for God?

user@domain.com — 2010-12-01T07:25:23-05:00

From the Buzzard Blog

You have to be hungry first. You have to be thirsty first.

You won’t truly appreciate a feast unless you’re really hungry. You won’t enjoy a cool drink of water unless you’ve been thirsty for a long time.

It’s the same with God.

The people who flocked to Jesus where the hungry and thirsty people. The fat, full, and bloated don’t come to God, the thirsty do.

You must be thirsty before you can really drink.

Jesus: Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

The woman: Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty…

God will put you in circumstances that starve you. He will take away your normal food and drink. He does this because he loves you. He does this to expose your deepest thirst. He does this to wake you up and make you alive. He has your best interest in mind. He will withhold the food, water, idols, and noise you normally fill yourself with until you feel the sweet pain of the deep thirst of your heart, the thirst that only God can quench.

You meet God when God brings you to the point that you cry out, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” God fills your thirst so that you can leave the old, empty wells behind.

Are you in the middle of a famine? Be thankful. God is starving you in order to truly feed you.

Quotes for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-11-28T18:54:21-05:00

“Both the Bible and church history show that God has always unleashed mass movements of his Spirit through people who are desperate for God.”

“The gospel isn’t just where we begin; it’s where we Christians live. We don't move beyond it we just move further into it.”

“The gospel tells us that no amount of good work on our part can force Gods favor and no amount of bad work on our part can forfeit Gods favor.”

“The gospel says that because Jesus was strong for me, I'm free to be weak; because Jesus has won for me, I'm free to lose”

“My struggle isn't believing my performance can earn God's favor; my struggle is believing my performance can keep God's favor”
- Tullian Tchividjian

Review for November 28

user@domain.com — 2010-11-28T17:01:42-05:00

Students learn from repetition

user@domain.com — 2010-11-27T13:28:41-05:00

If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.

If the gospel—even when you are orthodox—becomes something which you primarily assume, but what you are excited about is what you are doing in some sort of social reconstruction, you will be teaching the people that you influence that the gospel really isn’t all that important. You won’t be saying that—you won’t even mean that—but that’s what you will be teaching. And then you are only half a generation away from losing the gospel.

Make sure that in your own practice and excitement, what you talk about, what you think about, what you pray over, what you exude confidence over, joy over, what you are enthusiastic about is Jesus, the gospel, the cross. And out of that framework, by all means, let the transformed life flow. - D.A. Carson

Be discerning of counterfeit gospels

user@domain.com — 2010-11-26T11:11:03-05:00

I recently read this post by Tullian Tchividjian regarding the danger of counterfeit gospels. We are living in a dangerous time within evangelical church history. The truth of the gospel is being skewed and compromised. You may ask how does or how can that happen? I encourage you to read this article.

In his book How People Change (co-authored with Tim Lane), Paul Tripp identifies seven counterfeit gospels– ways we try and “justify” or “save” ourselves apart from the gospel of grace. I found these unbelievably helpful. Which one (or two, or three) of these do you tend to gravitate towards?

Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”

Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”

Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”

Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”

Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”

What is happening in the evangelical church?

user@domain.com — 2010-11-26T07:59:09-05:00

Evangelicals generally and the coming generation particularly have adopted to various degrees an ethical code of political civility. This compels them not only to be tolerant of others' beliefs, opinions, and lifestyles, but more importantly, to be tolerable to others. The critical dogma is not to offend but to be genteel and civil in social relations. . . [Such] a religious style . . . entails a deemphasis of Evangelicalism's more offensive aspects, such as accusations of heresy, sin, immorality, and paganism, and themes of judgment, divine wrath, damnation, and hell.
- James Davison Hunter, Evangelicalism.. The Coming Generation

The greatness of God

user@domain.com — 2010-11-26T07:43:17-05:00

"The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him -- and of her."
- A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

How to carve a turkey

user@domain.com — 2010-11-25T11:49:07-05:00

Learning and Living is your one stop shop for all your needs! Of course this is primarily dedicated to Bible doctrine but ever now and then we venture into other arenas. Since we are celebrating Thanksgiving today I thought I would post how to carve the turkey. My gift is that of eating and though I am not allowed to touch knives or sharp instruments around the bird today, this is for those who will have the job of slicing and dicing. Simply click on the photo above.

Happy Thanksgiving

user@domain.com — 2010-11-25T11:08:25-05:00

(From the Sacred Sandwich)

O give thanks to Him Who made
Morning light and evening shade;
Source and Giver of all good,
Nightly sleep and daily food;
Quickener of our wearied powers,
Guard of our unconscious hours.

O give thanks to nature’s King,
Who made every breathing thing;
His, our warm and sentient frame,
His, the mind’s immortal flame.
O how close the ties that bind
Spirits to the Eternal Mind!

O give thanks with heart and lip,
For we are His workmanship;
And all creatures are His care:
Not a bird that cleaves the air
Falls unnoticed; but who can
Speak the Father’s love to man?

O give thanks to Him Who came
In a mortal, suffering frame—
Temple of the Deity—
Came for rebel man to die;
In the path Himself hath trod
Leading back His saints to God.

Josiah Conder, 1836

Devotion in Luke 7:36-50

user@domain.com — 2010-11-25T09:35:06-05:00

This section of Scripture is very precious and teaches much about activity in the kingdom, love for the King and forgiveness from the King. Notice in these verses that the Pharisee did invite the Lord Jesus to his home. There is outward sign of politeness of which many Pharisees would never consider in regard to Christ. It is immediately that we see a sinful woman who enters the home. Do you see the two people in this story that really represent the two kinds of people in this world who need the gospel. The first person is lost because they are the ones who break all the rules.(those in the world) The second person is lost because they are trying to follow all the rules. (those in the church) Both types of people are really trying to be their own savior.

Observation #1
People can do all the right things, can say all the right things and still have no love for Christ. Jesus would say to the Pharisees in Matthew 15:8 "you honor Me with your lips but your heart is still from Me." We tend to look at the action or what is on the outside but God always looks on the inside. Whenever we have action for God that is motivated by our duty and not by desire then we dishonor Him.

Observation #2
The actions taken by the sinful woman in this story all stem from her love for Jesus. You can preach and teach men that they must fear God because He will punish their disobedience, you can tell them what they ought to do because of what He has done for them, and you can exhort them to keep God's word if they want to be saved. But unless there is a love for Christ that comes from a transformed heart, their hands and feet will remain idle. And if they do by chance get involved in kingdom work it will come from legalism and NOT love.

What could short circuit the gospel for the younger generation?

user@domain.com — 2010-11-22T17:11:55-05:00

If God is only a means to your self-advancement and exaltation, rather than your seeing in him something infinitely glorious, as a God consumed with the manifestation of his glory, then you need to check your conversion. - John Piper

The satisfaction of God's wrath

user@domain.com — 2010-11-22T11:21:11-05:00

This is the doctrine of propitiation. Here is a definition that you need to learn and think about on as daily basis as you preach the gospel to yourself.

Propitiation - Translated from the Greek word hilasterion, meaning “that which expiates or propitiates” or “the gift which procures propitiation”. It means “satisfaction” or “appeasement,” specifically towards God. In the New Testament, propitiation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross by which He appeases the wrath of God who would otherwise be offended by our sin and demand that we pay the penalty for it. The concept of propitiation is often associated with the idea of a substitutionary atonement. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

When a church goes liberal

user@domain.com — 2010-11-22T11:04:53-05:00

A church may be orthodox in it’s doctrinal statement but liberal in its practice. Today we are seeing a steady but alarming decline in the preaching and teaching of the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. When we started the “Learning and Living” class in August of 2008 the curriculum was then and continues to be today Bible doctrine. In America there seems to be three primary camps within the evangelical church:
1. The orthodox camp which believes that the Bible is the word of God
2. The liberal camp which believes the Bible contains the word of God
3. The neo-orthodox camp which believes the Bible becomes the word of God

There are a number of reasons we see a popular movement away from camp #1 to camp #3 especially as it relates to young people. The following is an article by Carl Trueman which will help to explain how churches today get on the slippery slope that leads to liberalism and then into emergent heresy.

Not all historical phenomena that manifest themselves as doctrinal are necessarily immediately doctrinal in cause or origin.' That statement, made to me by a mentor in my field of historical theology, articulates a crucial principle, a principle that came to mind quite recently.

I have spent the last few weeks reflecting on the general question as to why churches lose the plot and end up going liberal. Of course, the simple answer is, 'Because of human sinfulness,' but that is not particularly helpful as an explanation of why particular churches lose the plot at particular points in time. Thus, over the next few days I want to offer a series of posts, in no specific order of priority, about more particular, immediate causes for the phenomenon of theological decline within churches. I should add that my reflections are avowedly Presbyterian, and I make no apologies for that; but I do believe that the causes I outline have their parallels within other Christian ecclesiological traditions such as evangelicalism etc.

The first danger I want to highlight is that of the celebrity pastor who is ultimately so big as to be practically beyond criticism. Some pastors are just so successful as communicators that, frankly, they are placed on a pedestal and become, in both their precept and example, authoritative sources of wisdom to their followers. In part this is because many rightly think that thankfulness, not criticism, should be the appropriate response to seeing the Lord bless a ministry. Who really wants to criticise a man who brings so many the good news? Yet in an age where sheer numerical success and the ability to pull in the punters and keep them enthralled is often assumed to be a clear sign of faithfulness, there are dangers of which we must be aware.

Repenting from what?

user@domain.com — 2010-11-22T10:36:33-05:00

What must we do, then, to be saved? To find God we must repent of the things we have done wrong, but if that is all you do, you may remain just an elder brother. To truly become a Christian we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right. Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness, too. We must learn how to repent of the sin under all our other sins and under all our righteousness – the sin of seeking to be our own Savior and Lord. We must admit that we’ve put our ultimate hope in both our wrongdoing and right doing we have been seeking to get around God or get control of God in order to get hold of those things.

It is only when you see the desire to be your own Savior and Lord—lying beneath both your sins and your moral goodness—that you are on the verge of becoming a Christian indeed. When you realize that the antidote to being bad is not just being good, you are on the brink. If you follow through, it will change everything—how you relate to God, self, others, the world, your work, you sins, your virtue. It’s called the new birth because its so radical
- Tim Keller (The Prodigal God)

Desire nothing but God

user@domain.com — 2010-11-22T08:43:09-05:00

“No, Aleck, no! The danger of ruin to Methodism does not lie here. It springs from quite a different quarter. Our preachers, many of them, are fallen. They are not spiritual. They are not alive to God. They are soft, enervated, fearful of shame, toil, hardship. . . . Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth.”

- John Wesley, writing at age 87 to Alexander Mather, quoted in Luke Tyerman, The Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley (London, 1871), III:632.

What God can see

user@domain.com — 2010-11-18T15:32:59-05:00

In all our duties, whether giving or praying, the great thing to be kept in mind is, that we have a heart-searching and all-knowing God. Everything like formality, being artificial, or mere bodily service, is abominable and worthless in God’s sight. He takes no account of the quantity of money we give, or the quantity of words we use. The one thing at which His all-seeing eye looks at is the nature of our motives, and the state of our hearts. Our Father sees in secret.

~ J.C. Ryle

May I have your attention please

user@domain.com — 2010-11-16T09:21:56-05:00

We start back tonight with a 5 week study series on the sovereignty of God in the redemption of mankind. As many of you know we are taking a close look at the plan of the Bible. It is a wonderful story about God's rescue of man through Christ Jesus. People in the orthodox evangelical church affirm that God is sovereign. But do we know what that means? How does the sovereignty of God extend unto the salvation of man? What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty as it relates to election, predestination and foreknowledge? Can we know the answers to these kinds of questions that have been asked over 2000 years of church history? Will the way I answer this question impact the way I relate to and know God? Can you define sovereignty and then support your definition from Scripture? Could you explain it to a 10 year old?

Join us and during the next 5 weeks for some intense study on this topic. This is really a study within a study. As we study the plan of the Bible I think it is very important you understand how God's sovereignty works within His overall plan. If you have been away traveling and have not attended during the fall so far then please consider joining us for the next 5 weeks.

How to understand the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-11-09T08:22:44-05:00

Scripture is of no use to us if we read it merely as a handbook for daily living without recognizing that its principle purpose is to reveal Jesus Christ and his gospel for the salvation of sinners. All Scripture coalesces in Christ, anticipated in the OT and appearing in the flesh in the NT. In Scripture, God issues commands and threatens judgment for transgressors as well as direction for the lives of his people.

Yet the greatest treasure buried in the Scriptures is the good news of the promised Messiah. Everything in the Bible that tells us what to do is “law”, and everything in the Bible that tells us what God has done in Christ to save us is “gospel.” Much like medieval piety, the emphasis in much Christian teaching today is on what we are to do without adequate grounding in the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. “What would Jesus do?” becomes more important than “What has Jesus done?”

The gospel, however, is not just something we needed at conversion so we can spend the rest of our Christian life obsessed with performance; it is something we need every day–the only source of our sanctification as well as our justification. The law guides, but only the gospel gives. We are declared righteous–justified–not by anything that happens within us or done by us, but solely by God’s act of crediting us with Christ’s perfect righteousness through faith alone.

- Michael Horton (Justified: Modern Reformation Essays on the Doctrine of Justification)

The key to our spiritual growth

user@domain.com — 2010-11-09T04:58:52-05:00

The secret of the gospel is that we become more spiritually mature when we focus less on what we do for God and focus more on what God has already done for us. - Tullian Tchividjian

In Christ

user@domain.com — 2010-11-09T04:29:25-05:00

I don't think it is appropriate to spend my life defending my life or my name. My name is nothing who cares about it. I am not called to spend precious hours fighting off every person that wants to have a pop at me. As a Christian I am not meant to engage in self justification any more than self promotion.

Rather I am called to defend the name of Christ. To be honest I have never seen a criticism of me true or untrue to which I could say it was Christ's honor and not my ego that was being damaged. God will look after my reputation if need be, He has given me other work to do. Be comforted not in what others think of you but what God thinks about you in Christ.

- Carl Trueman, Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia

Review for November 7

user@domain.com — 2010-11-08T06:41:50-05:00

This past Sunday we completed our study on the immutability of God. In the notes you will find further verse and study references than I was not able to cover yesterday. However I ask that you keep in mind we are only scratching the surface as it relates to these doctrines of God. For this reason I am recommending that you consider buying as a resource tool, the book “Bible Doctrine” that is by Wayne Grudem. A number of people in our class have this book and I think you would find it helpful as we continue to study the doctrines of God.

The last incommunicable attribute to cover is on the eternality of God. After that we will then move into the communicable attributes which are those attributes that God shares with us in finite measure. May I continue to encourage you to read and review these notes during the week as we move forward in our learning and living the God-centered life.

SBS Class Nov72010

Here is the full audio interview this week with Dr. Bruce Ware - Click on this LINK

No Men's Bible study tonight

user@domain.com — 2010-11-02T07:05:31-04:00

Our men’s Bible study will return on November 16 - 7 PM at the Ballantyne Country Club

This will be a special 5 weeks series that looks specifically at the sovereignty of God in relation to our redemption. Remember the theme of our study this year is “The Plan of the Bible.” This can be stated as the unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind by God. In our time together last Tuesday night we talked a good bit about the sovereignty of God. Therefore starting on November 16 we will study sovereignty and how this relates to our salvation. If you have been unable to attend for whatever reason I hope you will put this on your calendar now.

Hope to see you on November 16

The nature of saving faith

user@domain.com — 2010-11-01T05:35:37-04:00

“The nature of saving faith demands more than facts as a ground — not less, but more. . . . [S]aving faith is not mere receiving of facts. It is the receiving of Christ as the one who died for us and rose again, and is infinitely glorious, and wondrously beautiful, and supremely valuable. Therefore, the ground of such faith must be the spiritual sight of such glory and beauty and value.”

- John Piper, Think: The life of the Mind and the Love of God (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway, 2010), 73

Review for October 31

user@domain.com — 2010-11-01T05:33:47-04:00

SBS class_10312010

Sunday’s audio on Almost Christian click on this LINK

Review for October 31

user@domain.com — 2010-10-31T17:48:55-04:00

SBS class_10312010

Today’s audio on Almost Christian click on this LINK

Happy Reformation Day

user@domain.com — 2010-10-31T17:42:46-04:00

Luther nails 95 Theses to the wall

Review for October 24

user@domain.com — 2010-10-29T06:09:18-04:00

This past Sunday we looked at Romans 3:21-26 which many theologians, scholars, pastors and teachers have concluded is the most important paragraph in the Bible. My goal on Sunday was to show how my devotion time in this section of Scripture relates to the doctrine of God and plan of the Bible. The doctrine of God we are going through on Sunday mornings and the plan of the Bible is the focus of our men’s Bible study. Romans 3:21-26 shows us clearly the plan of the Bible and also the doctrine of God’s self sufficiency. I find that it can be helpful from time to time to leave the curriculum in lieu of a practical application, like devotion time, as it relates to what we are learning in our study.

Hopefully you can see the connecting of dots as you read this paragraph in Romans to the plan of the Bible and the doctrine of God. As I have said many times before I share with you the study notes to encourage you to study these things for yourself. Therefore may I encourage you to find in your own devotion time these various doctrines and write them in the margin of your Bible. As you read and re-read the Scriptures they will become clearer and more precious to you over the years.

SBS Class Oct242010

Jury Duty

user@domain.com — 2010-10-28T07:13:05-04:00

Away this week and should return for homework, review for Sunday and updated Bible reading by Saturday.

Unity not Uniformity

user@domain.com — 2010-10-22T18:13:36-04:00

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-10-22T18:11:10-04:00

Cheer up; you’re a lot worse off than you think you are, but in Jesus you’re far more loved than you ever could have imagined. - Jack Miller

Coming to a Christian bookstore near you...

user@domain.com — 2010-10-22T16:03:31-04:00

Building relationships

user@domain.com — 2010-10-22T13:56:42-04:00

From the Sacred Sandwich website

As a people person, Pastor Nickerson always enjoys getting to know each congregant a little better.

The extent of God's love

user@domain.com — 2010-10-22T13:33:54-04:00

“If you are truly trusting in Christ, you can’t confess a sin for which God has not provided forgiveness in Jesus.

Indeed, if you work at the discipline of confessing your sin, it should not lead to despair at all, but rather to rejoicing over the extent of God’s love to you in Christ.”

— Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence, It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 42

We preach Christ crucified

user@domain.com — 2010-10-22T12:18:39-04:00

The best preaching is, “We preach Christ crucified.”

The best living is, “We are crucified with Christ.”

The best man is a crucified man.

The more we live beholding our Lord’s unutterable griefs, and understanding how he has fully put away our sin, the more holiness shall we produce.

The more we dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard, where we can view heaven, and earth, and hell, all moved by his wondrous passion—the more noble will our lives become.

Nothing puts life into men like a dying Savior.

Get close to Christ, and carry the remembrance of him about you from day to day, and you will do right royal deeds.

Come, let us slay sin, for Christ was slain.

Come, let us bury all our pride, for Christ was buried.

Come, let us rise to newness of life, for Christ has risen.

Let us be united with our crucified Lord in his one great object—let us live and die with him, and then every action of our lives will be very beautiful.

- Charles Spurgeon, in a sermon dated November 2, 1884

Who is your savior?

user@domain.com — 2010-10-21T18:15:08-04:00

If you’re avoiding sin and living morally so that God will have to bless you and save you, then you may be looking to Jesus as a teacher, model, and helper, but ironically you are avoiding him as Savior. You are trusting in your own goodness rather than in Jesus for your standing with God. - Tim Keller from The Reason for God

The heavens declare the glory of God...

user@domain.com — 2010-10-20T12:27:30-04:00

Where in the world is Pat Jones?

user@domain.com — 2010-10-20T08:11:49-04:00

Many of you know that our class leader can be found visiting the four corners of the world. He is a globe trotting kind of guy, so can you guess where is was this week?

Doctor's Advice

user@domain.com — 2010-10-20T07:08:01-04:00

Legalism comes in two forms...

user@domain.com — 2010-10-18T11:22:48-04:00

Adapted from Tullian Tchividjian's book Surprised by Grace.
I’m ecstatic about the resurgence of gospel centrality taking place in the evangelical church. The idea that the gospel is not only for those outside the church but also for those inside the church; that it not only ignites the Christian life but is the fuel that keeps Christians going and growing every day, may seem like a new idea, but it’s really old. I’m glad it’s re-gaining traction, but as far as we’ve come, we need to go further.

For all the talk of gospel-centeredness, there’s still some fear and trepidation fueled by a common misunderstanding regarding the radical nature of grace. Even amongst the proponents of gospel-centrality, I still hear talk about there being two equal dangers that Christians must avoid: legalism and lawlessness.

The False Balance of “Legalism vs. Lawlessness”

Legalism, they say, happens when you focus too much on law, or rules. Lawlessness, they say, happens when you focus too much on grace. Therefore, in order to maintain spiritual equilibrium, you have to balance law and grace. Sometimes, legalism and lawlessness are presented as two ditches on either side of the gospel that we must avoid. If you start getting too much law, you need to balance it with grace. If you start getting too much grace, you need to balance it with law. But I’ve come to believe that this “balanced” way of framing the issue can unwittingly keep us from really understanding the gospel of grace in all of its radical depth and beauty.

Relating the gospel to our lives

user@domain.com — 2010-10-18T11:12:15-04:00

“Receiving and resting in the truths of the gospel translates into a Christian life of joy, peace, freedom, and love. So the gospel also gives us a new way to live and relate to other people. It frees us from sin’s stranglehold on our lives, liberates our conscience, and releases us from living according to the principles of this world. Since our new identity and new way to live is based solely on faith, the gospel excludes all manner of boasting and arrogance. Everything that we have has been given to us — thus it is called the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24). Moreover, this gospel has continual and daily applicability. It is not only relevant to us when we first believe, but continues to work in us and through us as we continue to believe. This continual life of faith visibly expresses itself in love (Gal 5:6).”

- Neil H. Williams, Gospel Transformation (Jenkintown, Pa.; World Harvest Mission, i-ii.

What happens when we are born again?

user@domain.com — 2010-10-16T08:42:13-04:00

The believer has such a sight and such a knowledge of things that, ever since, he is quite another man than he was before. It has exceedingly altered his internal tempers and disposition. The knowledge that he has is so substantial, so inward, and so affecting, that it has quite transformed the soul and put a new nature into the man, has quite changed his very innermost principles, and has made things otherwise, even from the very foundation, so that all things have become new to them. Yes, he is a new creature, he is just as if he was not the same, but born again, created over a second time.
- Jonathan Edwards

Understanding the storyline of the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-10-15T06:29:49-04:00

A Time to Tailgate

user@domain.com — 2010-10-14T16:26:23-04:00

From Karen Sheats

Greetings everyone - I hope that you're all enjoying this wonderful Fall weather and having a good week.

It's not too late - Our Tailgate Luncheon with the Intersect Class is THIS SUNDAY. Just $5 per adult and bring your children. I will be picking up the meat (hamburgers and hot dogs) this Sat. and must have a pretty good idea of a head count.

We will have tents provided by the church that will cover the food and prep area - bring your lawn chairs, tents if you have them and yard games. Mark Karow from Intersect will be our grill master for the afternoon. Intersect is providing desserts and drinks and our class is bringing the side dishes.

I still need a couple of volunteers to help set up. This shouldn't take too long - meet in the ball field by the "A" parking lot. Also, you may want to park in the A parking lot by the ball field that morning so that unloading is easier. If food needs to be stored you can use the refrigerator in the kitchen by the Carmel Room - or store it in a cooler. Don't' forget to bring a change of clothes!! No fun playing games in heels or wearing a coat and tie!!!

E-mail me if you haven't already signed up and let me know how many adults and children you will be bringing and what side dish.

What a way to bring in the Autumn Season!!!

New Christian reality TV show coming...

user@domain.com — 2010-10-13T08:52:40-04:00

For those of you who like reality TV there is a new show coming in 2011. The name of the show is “Pat and the Pastor.”
This will track the fun and unusual relationship between a SS class leader and the teacher. It will provide both video and audio of what it’s really like behind the scenes of SS class in 21st Century America. Here is a short audio except from the this new reality TV series. Pat has just received a series of strong emails from Pastor B. and is responding with a voice mail of his own. Disclaimer: The names have not been changed nor has anything else been changed because no one here is innocent.

Pat Jones (class leader extraordinaire) - To listen CLICK ON THIS LINK

Halloween is fast approaching

user@domain.com — 2010-10-12T17:34:58-04:00

From the Sacred Sandwich Blog site

The kingdom of God

user@domain.com — 2010-10-12T17:33:53-04:00

“The kingdom of God is the new and final age that began with the coming of Jesus. His kingdom is not part of the present age — an age where the flesh reigns; where people are divided, relationships are broken, and suspicion and competition dominate; where money, sex, and power are abused; where leaders are first and servants are last; where behavior is controlled by laws, and identity is defined by race, gender, or social standing; and where gifts and resources are used for the advancement of oneself.

Rather, the kingdom of God is the new age. It is the age of the Spirit (Matt 12:28). It is the age of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17). The kingdom of God is about the renewal, restoration, and reconciliation of all things, and God has made us a part of this great story of salvation.” - Neil H. Williams, Gospel Transformation (Jenkintown, Pa.; World Harvest Mission, 2006)

Are you pragmatic?

user@domain.com — 2010-10-11T13:57:52-04:00

Something to think about

user@domain.com — 2010-10-11T13:27:41-04:00

Chris Rosebrough ask a great question in regard to the difference between a gift and a wage.
Do we as Christians understand and live out that difference?

Webster's dictionary defines a GIFT as:
noun: something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation

The same dictionary defines a WAGE as:
noun: a payment usually of money for labor or services usually according to contract and on an hourly, daily, or piecework basis —often used in plural

With these definitions in mind let me ask you a question. Before I ask the question let me set the context of the question for you.

Imagine you and I have a face to face friendship and that one day I told you that I had very special GIFT that I wanted to give you. That the GIFT I wanted to GIVE to you was very precious and would bless your socks off. I assured you that I was giving you the GIFT purely out of the kindness of my heart. BUT that there were some CONDITIONS to your receiving this GIFT. Here are the CONDITIONS.

1. YOU HAVE TO meet with me every day for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. YOU HAVE TO read, study and master the content of all my writings.
3. YOU HAVE TO give me 10% of your gross income for the rest of your life.
4. YOU HAVE TO encourage other people to read my writings.
5. YOU HAVE TO participate in a weekly small group that is dedicated to reading and discussing my writings.
---

So here is the question, is the GIFT that I am promising to GIVE you really a GIFT or is it a WAGE?

Are you reading the Bible incorrectly?

user@domain.com — 2010-10-11T07:52:05-04:00

From the Resurgence blog site

Two opposite errors exist in approaching the Bible. One is not to read it. The other is to know it so well that you miss Jesus. Jesus pointed out this error: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).

Are you surprised to believe this error exists? We constantly talk about reading and studying the Bible as an unqualified good. But clearly, the way we read the Bible is just as important as reading it.

So how can you know if you might be reading the Bible, looking for life, but missing Jesus completely? Here are a few clues:

The reality of God's grace

user@domain.com — 2010-10-11T07:12:37-04:00

“Confidence in Christ is admirable, but not effrontery and self-confidence. I am afraid of those people who are so very sure, so very confident all of a sudden, and yet have never felt the burden of sin. Be ashamed and be confounded while you lay hold on Christ, for the more He does for you the less you must think of yourself. You may very accurately measure the reality of your Grace by the reality of your self-loathing.” - Charles Spurgeon, The Secret of Health

Review for October 10

user@domain.com — 2010-10-11T05:07:15-04:00

If God doesn't need us then why are we here?

The importance of God's self sufficiency in the Christian life

user@domain.com — 2010-10-09T10:51:16-04:00

Tomorrow is a critical day for our class as we come to understand the doctrine of self-sufficiency. Would you take some time today and pray that hearts might be open so that eyes can see and ears can hear this truth about God and us? This doctrine is a priority for our understanding of the Christian life.

So if God is self sufficient and doesn't need us then:
1. Why are we here?
2. Why does God demand so much from us?

These two points will be the main focus of Sunday's class. It is so important that we get this straight in our thinking when it comes to God and the Bible. The way you and I answer these two questions will manifest itself in "HOW" we go about living the Christian life.

Most of you have heard me teach on the first half of this doctrine before. But I want to tell you with the strongest exhortation possible, we will never get beyond our need for the doctrine of self sufficiency instead we will just move further into it. I have purposely not spent much time on the back half of this doctrine but I plan to do so on Sunday. Please come with a prepared heart and a sense of anticipation and expectation as we conclude on the doctrine of self sufficiency.

Remember to keep our banner verse firmly entrenched as we go through the 2010-2011 year.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

The gift that keeps on giving

user@domain.com — 2010-10-09T09:51:24-04:00

Without the gospel there is nothing but desert on earth and no confession of God and no thanksgiving. But where the gospel and Christ are, there is Bethlehem abounding in grain, and grateful Judea; there everybody has enough in Christ and there is nothing but thanksgiving for God’s mercies. But the doctrines of men [ie legalistic attempts at justification with God through pious duty] thank only themselves, and yet they permit arid land and deadly hunger to remain. No heart is ever satisfied unless it hears Christ preached properly in the gospel; when this happens, a person comes to Bethlehem and finds him; then he also comes and stays in Judea and thanks his God eternally; then he is satisfied; then, too, God is praised and confessed. Apart from the gospel there is nothing but ingratitude and we do nothing but die of hunger. - From a Christmas sermon by Martin Luther (Works, 52:20)

The good news

user@domain.com — 2010-10-09T09:41:55-04:00

“The gospel is the best news we could ever hear. The gospel is about Jesus Christ and his power to transform our lives and relationships, communities, and ultimately, the nations. Through this gospel, we are freely given a new identity — an identity not based on race, social class, gender, a theological system, or a system of rules and regulations. Rather it is a new and perfect identity based solely on faith in Jesus — an identity that defines every aspect of our lives. We are now forgiven, righteous, adopted, accepted, free, and heirs to everything that belongs to Christ. So even our sin, weakness, and failures do not define who we are. Because of this good news, we no longer have to hide from our sin and pretend that we have it all together, for God knows and loves us as we are, not as we pretend to be.” - Neil H. Williams, Gospel Transformation, 2nd ed. (Jenkintown, Pa.; World Harvest Mission, 2006)

Check out this church video

user@domain.com — 2010-10-08T16:18:41-04:00

What does sanctification look like in a believers life?

user@domain.com — 2010-10-07T07:46:29-04:00

The man whose soul is “growing” takes more interest in spiritual things every year. He does not neglect his duty in the world. He discharges faithfully, diligently, and conscientiously every relation of life, whether at home or abroad. But the things he loves best are spiritual things. The ways, and fashions, and amusements, and recreations of the world have a continually decreasing place in his heart. He does not condemn them as downright sinful, nor say that those who have anything to do with them are going to hell. He only feels that they have a constantly diminishing hold on his own affections, and gradually seem smaller and more trifling in his eyes. Spiritual companions, spiritual occupations, spiritual conversation, appear of ever-increasing value to him. Would any one know if he is growing in grace? Then let him look within for increasing spirituality of taste. - J.C. Ryle (Holiness, 107)

The importance of New Testament verbs

user@domain.com — 2010-10-06T14:21:31-04:00

INDICATIVES and the IMPERATIVES - Pastor Ken Jones

The Self-Sufficiency of God

user@domain.com — 2010-10-06T11:13:08-04:00

On Sunday we took an in depth look at the attribute of God’s self sufficiency. The definition of self sufficiency is as follows:
God possesses within himself, intrinsically and eternally, every quality in infinite measure. Or, to say it another way, God has no need for anything outside of who God is, in and of himself. God needs nothing apart from himself, for He possesses every quality within himself.

We need always remember that God is the Giver and we are the receiver. God is full and we are the ones who are empty. God is strong and we are weak. There is not one single thing, whether it be in Christian service, financial giving, missions, or in any other ministry capacity that I can do to help God out. In other words when you compare all the talents, abilities, power and influence in the entire world to our God it ranks on a scale as less than nothing. (Isaiah 40:12-17)

Therefore we have a position that we need constantly and consistently to keep before this self-sufficient God. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Amazing Grace

user@domain.com — 2010-10-06T08:59:58-04:00

‎Dear God, I confess that I am not what I should be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I will be, but by your grace I am what I am, and that I am not what I once was! - John Newton 1725-1807 (Author of Amazing Grace)

What is the homework assignment?

user@domain.com — 2010-10-06T07:45:58-04:00

Since we have new people coming in and out of our class I thought it might help to have a repost regarding our homework from week to week.

Do we have homework? The short answer to that question is yes. If you are new to the “Learning and Living” Community then here is what you need to know about the homework assignments. This class was started on the premise of getting people back to the word of God, until the word of God got back into them.

The three specific disciplines we have taught from day one involve

Bible reading
Bible devotion
Bible study

Assignment #1 - Read through the entire Bible.
We are presently on a 90 day Bible reading plan. So for the person that wants to know, what is the homework for the day, I first want to point them to Bible reading plan. Recent church statistics show that over 90% of those within the church have not read through the Bible at least one time. It is harder to teach when there is not an understanding of the Scriptures as a whole.

One of the key components the church is missing today in Bible study is being able to see the big picture connection from Genesis to Revelation. In the first month of our class we covered many different aspects of the Bible. One morning I asked the class, "who is the author of Genesis?" Someone spoke up and said "Moses" to which I replied "that is correct." Then I repeated the question a different way and asked "who is the real Author of Genesis?" At that point someone else spoke up and said "the Holy Spirit" to which I replied "that is correct." So even though the Bible is composed of 66 books with over 40 different authors, there is one mind and one Author that is connecting it all together.

The Cross

user@domain.com — 2010-10-06T07:39:36-04:00

“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.” - John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, 179.

Pumped up on the Plan

user@domain.com — 2010-10-05T12:37:55-04:00

It’s not too late to join us as we Read the Bible in 90 days!

(Click on the unaltered photo above and print out a copy of the plan)

The wrath of God

user@domain.com — 2010-10-05T11:24:18-04:00

“It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is!”
- Jonathan Edwards

Practical ways to glorify God

user@domain.com — 2010-10-05T07:59:58-04:00

Here are 20 practical ways from Kevin DeYoung that we can glorify God according to Scripture:

1. Give God verbal declarations of praise (Rev. 4:8-9).

2. Live a life of noticeable piety (Matt. 5:16; James 1:27; 1 Peter 2:12).

3. Ask God for things in Jesus’ name (John 14:13).

4. Bear fruit and show yourself to be a disciple of Jesus (John 15:8).

5. Declare the truth about Jesus (John 16:14).

6. Love your life less than God (John 21:19; 1 Peter 1:7; 4:16).

7. Worship God as God (Rom. 1:21).

8. Live a life of sexual purity (1 Cor. 6:20).

9. Live a life of generosity (2 Cor. 9:13).

10. Rejoice in God’s glory displayed in creation (Psalm 19:1).

Mark your Calendars!

user@domain.com — 2010-10-05T06:51:10-04:00

Retreat 2011 with Dr. Bruce Ware

To see in more detail click on this LINK

Understanding faith

user@domain.com — 2010-10-04T11:36:59-04:00

"Faith is the means, not the ground, of salvation. Paul declared that we are saved through faith, never that we are saved on account of faith. The merit of Christ is the ground of salvation. Faith is the instrument that links believers to Christ and his merit." - page 1,923 of The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible in a comment on Philippians 3:9.

Preview for October 3

user@domain.com — 2010-10-04T07:39:16-04:00

On Sunday we took the entire class time to look more in depth at God’s attribute of self-sufficiency. As I said on Sunday if you have never studied this attribute then be prepared for a bit of a brain cramp. Unfortunately Americans are over saturated with self esteem, self actualization and the “if its to be its up to me” attitude. It is sad to say much of that thinking and behaving has entered the church. I think this study on self sufficiency might just be the most important one that we cover this winter. Therefore I have included in this blog article all the notes which include yesterday and our upcoming class next week.

We started yesterday with a basic definition for self sufficiency: God possesses within himself, intrinsically and eternally, every quality in infinite measure. My recommendation is that you read through these notes at least twice this week. Take some devotion time and go through the Scriptures listed and think deeply on these things. Do you understand that we can serve God in a way that is blasphemous?I It seems that many today in the church are more focused on the method of serving than the motive. I want to teach a Wednesday night elective sometime and this be the title of the class - DON’T SERVE GOD (from the mindset that He needs it). Again as I have done throughout our study on the doctrine of God, thanks to Dr. Bruce Ware for his teaching and notes on these critical doctrines.

Self Sufficiency of God (includes all notes)

The goodness of God

user@domain.com — 2010-09-30T15:58:36-04:00

From Randy Alcorn’s book “The Goodness of God”

Jesus Christ’s life and death demonstrate that God has never dished out any suffering he hasn’t taken on himself.

His death on the cross is God’s answer to the question, “Why don’t you do something about evil?” God allowed Jesus’ temporary suffering so he could prevent our eternal suffering . . .

God wrote the script of this drama of redemption long before Satan, demons, Adam and Eve—and you and I—took the stage. And from the beginning, he knew that the utterly spectacular ending would make the dark middle worth it. Paul writes, “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9). How could God give us grace before our lives began, even before the universe itself existed? Only because God knew and determined in advance the work of Christ for us on the cross.

The story’s low point is the death of Jesus, yet this low point is the basis upon which he will one day, in a dramatic resolution to the story, return to establish his eternal kingdom on Earth.

The progress of redemption

user@domain.com — 2010-09-30T15:50:41-04:00

This article written by Buck Parsons entitled “It is finished”

The atoning death of the Lord of glory is never to be regarded merely as a pleasant fact of history. Redemption has been accomplished. God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, and He promised that the Christ would be a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order to redeem those under the Law for the express purpose that we, His people, might be adopted as sons of God. God’s Word is filled with the story of God’s enduring love for His people. From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals the progress of the salvation of His people culminating in the death of death in the death of the Savior who cried out “It is finished.”

Review for September 26

user@domain.com — 2010-09-29T17:47:17-04:00

SBS Class September 252010

Devotion in John 6

user@domain.com — 2010-09-29T07:52:07-04:00

When having devotion and study times get into the habit of having a Bible Atlas close at hand so you can be familiar with locations, regions and traveling distances.

This morning I had my devotion in John 6. In John 6 we first have the account of Jesus feeding the 5000. After that He sends the disciples in a boat to Capernaum. Then He joins them and has a confrontation with the crowd. Look at John 6:26 - Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
Do you see what Jesus spots in the attitude of the crowd? They want the gifts but not the Giver. They desire the blessings (food) but not the Blessor. This group wants all that Jesus can provide for them health, wealth and prosperity but they don't want Him.

Now look at the text and see how Jesus relates the manna that was given to the people of Israel in the wilderness to Himself. And He says in John 6:33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Side note: Do you see how Jesus is explaining to the people that the manna that came down from heaven was a foreshadowing or a pointer to Him? Again do you see how the NT is able to interpret the OT Scriptures for us so that we can see Christ?

What makes an apple mad?

user@domain.com — 2010-09-29T05:40:00-04:00

This from the Sacred Sandwich Website

PS - I did notice one comment said “Wrong fruit, not the apple in the tree but the “pair” on the ground”

The Plan of the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-09-27T17:04:51-04:00

Tuesday, September 28 from 7:00-8:30 PM at Ballantyne Country Club in the Men’s Locker Room

Contemporary vs. Traditional

user@domain.com — 2010-09-27T09:10:08-04:00

For those who really are trying to understand the differences between contemporary and traditional need read no further than this article. The “Learning and Living” research team spans the globe to find and bring to you the most current “hot topics” under discussion today in the evangelical church.

So for a clear and concise explanation of contemporary vs. traditional read the following story.

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.
"Well," said the farmer, "it was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."
"Praise choruses?" said his wife. "What are those?"
"Oh, they're OK. They are sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.
"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The farmer said, "Well, it's like this - If I were to say to you "Martha, the cows are in the corn"' - well, that would be a hymn. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:

Martha, Martha, Martha,
Oh Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows
the white cows,
the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS, COWS
are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn,
the CORN, CORN, CORN.

Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well, that would be a praise chorus."

The next weekend, his nephew, a young, new Christian from the city came to visit and attended the local church of the small town. He went home and his mother asked him how it was.
"Well," said the young man, "it was good. They did something different however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."
"Hymns?" asked his mother. "What are those?"
"Oh, they're OK. They are sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.
"Well, what's the difference?" asked his mother.

Expository preaching in postmodern America

user@domain.com — 2010-09-27T07:39:20-04:00

This is from the 9 Marks website

Some people today claim that expositional preaching is irrelevant for postmodern people. “People today need narrative and conversation and dialogue and drama! They don’t need expositional preaching.”

In fact, expositional preaching is particularly relevant for postmodern people:

Expositional preaching unfolds the multi-faceted riches of Scriptural truth in a way that corresponds to the kind of diversity that postmoderns love to celebrate.
The Bible is not a set of philosophical abstractions, it’s a collection of narratives, poetry, songs, letters, history, laws, and prophesies. And the Bible is diverse not only in its literary form, but in its content: it contains bitter lament, exultant joy, romantic love, the rise and fall of empires, tragedy, deceit, oppression, rebellion, deliverance, celebration, and every imaginable facet of human life and experience. Expositional preaching should highlight this rich literary and existential diversity, which should be particularly satisfying to postmodern sensibilities.

Expositional preaching demonstrates and proves that the Word of God is not merely propositional, it’s effectual (Isa. 55:10-11).
Postmoderns say that even if there were such a thing as objective truth, we could never truly grasp it because we cannot see beyond our own perspectives. But expositional preaching rightly responds to these claims by asserting the clarity and applicability of Scripture to all its hearers. Not only that, but as a preacher faithfully expounds God’s Word, God will use it to transform people’s hearts: to bring them to submit to God, to delight in his Word, to lovingly obey him, and to humbly worship him. Expositional preaching is particularly relevant to postmoderns because it proves that God’s Word not only asserts propositions, it transforms lives.

How the gospel changes everything

user@domain.com — 2010-09-27T07:21:24-04:00

From Resurgence Blog site

How does the Gospel Change Everything?

It is found simply in the not-so-simple phrase by J.I. Packer, "God saves sinners."

God

"God – the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father's will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of Father and Son by renewing."

Saves

"Saves – does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies. Sinners do not save themselves in any sense at all. Salvation, first and last, whole and entire, past, present and future, is of the Lord, to whom be glory for ever; amen."

Sinners

"Sinners – When we are born, we are dead, condemned, depraved, corrupt, perverse, sinful and completely unable to save or even lift a finger to enable salvation (Rom. 2-3; 6:23). This vile sinner doesn't even know he is dead. The law of God exposes the extent of our wickedness (Gal. 3:24)."

The grace of God extends down to us, not because we deserve it, but even as we do not deserve it (Rom 5:8). Our works, even attempts at good works are not adequate to contribute to our salvation or sanctification. Once the Spirit regenerates our dead souls, we by faith receive the completed work of Jesus who accomplishes our justification—a declaration of his righteousness on us. As his grace continues to work in our lives, the gospel comes to fruition (Col. 1:6; 2 Peter 1-3-9) in every aspect of our life.

The omnipresence of God

user@domain.com — 2010-09-27T06:58:53-04:00

At the end of class yesterday I was going over this final point regarding the omnipresence of God:

Because it is one thing to have the attribute and quite another to have the expression of that attribute.

Isn't it different to talk about God's omnipresence which means He is everywhere and God's manifest presence?

Manifest presence means that God is there in a focused, deliberate and intentional way watching over not just seeing what is there but attending to and caring for, providing for, strengthening and enabling and protecting.

For example:
God is omnipresent but in the temple God's glory came and dwelled.

Start your week knowing that the God of the Bible who is self-existent, self-sufficient, infinite and omnipresent is with His own in a very deliberate and intentional way. He is not just everywhere in the world but He is right with you. And this God of whom we are studying and knowing and loving is NOT with you because you deserve it or have merited it in any way. Instead God is with you to attend to and care for you and strengthen you because of His grace. Doesn't that bring rise in our very souls to a point of thankfulness (Colossians 3:17) and rejoicing (Philippians 4:4) and demonstrating Him as great (1 Cor. 10:31)? Continue praying that you might always be amazed at His grace!

Coming Oct 1 - The 90 day Bible Reading Plan

user@domain.com — 2010-09-23T14:01:11-04:00

Click on the photo above and you can print this out and use as a bookmark

When duty becomes king

user@domain.com — 2010-09-23T08:01:01-04:00

Our capacities to enjoy God have so shriveled up that we have made joyless duty the essence of virtue so as to conceal our untransformed hearts that have not been moved by God. - Dr. John Piper

From the front burner

user@domain.com — 2010-09-22T10:54:20-04:00

Last night at the men’s Bible study I emphasized that the organizing plan of the Bible is the unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind by God. Whenever I study the plan of the Bible it always brings me to the gospel. I heard a pastor once say:

Most people inside the church think the gospel is for those outside the church. They think the gospel is for non Christians so that when God saves us then we have done that so to speak and now we are ready to move into deeper things. But we need to remember once we get saved God doesn’t move us beyond the gospel but rather He moves us further into an understanding of the gospel.

And that is the very reason that I continue to teach the plan of the Bible to the men on Tuesday night. Because we never move beyond a need to understand it instead we need to move further into our understanding of it.

What is saving faith?

user@domain.com — 2010-09-21T16:36:12-04:00

The teaching plan for our class is to cover the doctrine of salvation in the 2011 year. More than likely we will start on this sometime in April. Therefore I am going to, from time to time, get you thinking about salvation issues even before we cover this in our class on Bible doctrine. The following is an excellent article to help us understand “saving faith.” This from Dr. John Piper’s book - Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God, p. 67-69. Hope you enjoy.

Now, the key question is: What does faith receive in order to be justifying faith?
The answer, of course, is that faith receives Jesus. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Faith saves because it receives Jesus.

But we must make clear what this actually means, because there are so many people who say they have received Christ and believed on Christ but give little or no evidence that they are spiritually alive. They are unresponsive to the spiritual beauty of Jesus. They are unmoved by the glories of Christ. They don’t have the spirit of the apostle Paul when he said, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8). This is not their spirit, yet they say they have received Christ. It looks as though it is possible to “receive Christ” and not have him for what he is.

One way to describe this problem is to say that when these people “receive Christ,” they do not receive him as supremely valuable. They receive him simply as sin-forgiver (because they love being guilt-free), and as rescuer-from-hell (because they love being pain-free), and as healer (because they love being disease-free), and as protector (because they love being safe), and as prosperity-giver (because they love being wealthy), and as creator (because they want a personal universe), and as Lord of history (because they want order and purpose). But they don’t receive him as supremely and person- ally valuable for who he is. They don’t receive him the way Paul did when he spoke of “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” They don’t receive him as he really is—more glorious, more beautiful, more wonderful, more satisfying, than everything else in the universe. They don’t prize him or treasure him or cherish him or delight in him.

Review for September 19

user@domain.com — 2010-09-21T14:12:08-04:00

On Sunday we started with 10 challenging questions to get us thinking about living the God-centered life.
Then we covered God’s attribute of infinity.

Also you will notice that as part of the class resource tab you can sign up for class membership directory.
In order to do so you will need a user name and password that is to be issued by Stowe Spivey. If you would like to participate in our class directory Stowe’s address is spiveyspivey@yahoo.com.

SBS Class Revised)

In your power or by God's power

user@domain.com — 2010-09-20T10:46:16-04:00

This is an article by Os Hillman that will serve as some additional commentary to how we started class on Sunday. I began asking 10 specific questions for us to consider as we launch into this new fall year. The biggest danger is that we do any of these things by our strength instead of the strength alone that God can provide. Hope you enjoy this article:

When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark..." 1 Chronicles 13:9-10

There are good things we can do, but only God-things we should do. Those activities not born out of the Spirit will result in wood, hay, and stubble. What seems good in our eyes may be an abomination in God's eyes. For instance, if you decide to build an orphanage but God has never directed you to do so, then God will not see that work as good; it was born out of your own strength, even though it was a "good work."

The most difficult challenge a Christian workplace believer will ever have is to know what things to be involved in and what things not to be involved in. Many workplace believers have a great ability to see opportunity. What appears to be a "slam dunk" may come back to haunt us if God never ordains us to enter that arena. There are many good things we can be involved with. However, there are God-things we are supposed to be involved with. Uzzah was a good man in David's sight. It was a time of celebration, and David and the people were transporting the ark of God. However, the ark hit a bump, and Uzzah reached for the ark to hold it steady. He touched the ark, and he immediately died. David became very upset with God about this situation; he questioned whether he could serve God.

Gentlemen may I have your attention

user@domain.com — 2010-09-20T06:10:07-04:00

This Tuesday we have men’s Bible camp starting at 7 PM at Ballantyne Country Club in the men’s locker room. Yesterday in our “Learning and Living” class Diane Weatherbee encouraged all the women to send their men to Bible camp. So, with that in mind I want to invite all the men (all ages) in our class to come to Bible camp on Tuesday night. If you would like to review the notes for this week’s lesson then simply click on this LINK.

Incommunicable attributes of God

user@domain.com — 2010-09-18T10:52:42-04:00

Courtesy of Wordle

Two lessons for Christians to learn

user@domain.com — 2010-09-18T06:14:00-04:00

From the Of First Importance Blog Site
“There are but two lessons for Christians to learn: the one is, to enjoy God in everything; the other is, to enjoy everything in God.”

- Charles Simeon, quoted by John Piper in The Roots of Endurance (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway Books, 2002), 113.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-09-18T06:06:44-04:00

When you gaze upon the sun—it makes everything else dark; when you taste honey—it makes everything else tasteless.
Likewise, when your soul feeds on Jesus —it takes away the sweetness of all earthly things; praise, pleasure, fleshly lusts, all lose their sweetness.
Keep a continued gaze! Run, looking unto Jesus. So will the world be crucified to you—and you unto the world!

–Robert Murray McCheyne (1813–1843)

The problem with positive thinking and self help pyschology

user@domain.com — 2010-09-18T06:01:56-04:00

This article is from TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman 09-17-2010

..."Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the Lord
Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

God's people should be the most positive, joyful people on earth. This
joy should be a by-product of a healthy, intimate relationship with
Jesus. In today's business climate, we are barraged with every
possible means of becoming more productive workplace believers.
Positive thinking and self-help philosophy are promoted as tools for
workplace believers to fulfill their potential and overcome the
mountains in their lives. God calls each of us to be visionary
leaders, but we must be careful that vision is born out of His Spirit,
not the latest self-help program. These ideas lead us away from
dependence on God to a self-based psychology designed to give us more
power, prosperity, and significance.

The result is heresy. Our faith in God becomes faith in faith. It is
born out of hard work and diligence rather than obedience to God's
Spirit. The problem lies in that these philosophies sound good, and
can even be supported by Bible verses. Beware of anything that puts
the burden of performance on you rather than God. There are times in
our lives when God doesn't want us to climb every mountain. Sometimes
He wants us to go around. Knowing the difference is the key to being a
man or woman led by the Spirit.

God has called us to affect the workplace through His Spirit, not by
our might. Have you tapped into the real power source of the soul? Ask
the Lord to reveal and empower you through His Spirit today. Then you
will know what real positive thinking is.

Living on overload

user@domain.com — 2010-09-16T07:47:14-04:00

As Christians in America we live in a world of meetings, text messages, constant activities, endless social opportunities and 24/7 cable news. It seems that we are distracting ourselves to death.

Have you considered a season of life where you practice Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God. I came to a blog site where a pastor posted the following questions for his church to consider. After reading these to Nancy this weekend, her suggestion is that we print these out and laminate to have as book marks for our “learning and living” community.

My point in this post is simply this, these are the kind of questions you need to be still before the Lord to consider properly.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

Being relevant in today's culture

user@domain.com — 2010-09-16T07:40:56-04:00

From the Sacred Sandwich Blog Site

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-09-15T16:25:47-04:00

“At last meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith. Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open.”
- Martin Luther

The importance of the Greek

user@domain.com — 2010-09-15T11:03:37-04:00

Here is a blog article I just read from the Justification by Grace blog site. Folks the New Testament is written in koine Greek. Sometimes known as a street language Greek or Greek for the common man. This article will give you a sense for why it is important that we have teaching from the original languages.

Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, in his expository sermons on Galatians, gives us some beautiful gospel insight into Galatians 3:10-13. He says:

“There is a beautiful story in three prepositions here, which many have commented upon. Gal 3:10 says, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.” I am ‘under’ the curse. Then in the 13th verse we read, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” The word “for” is a Greek preposition which really has the idea of ‘over’. So here am I ‘under’ the curse, but Christ has been made a curse for us, ‘over us’, so that now he has intervened between the curse and myself, so that the curse, when it falls, falls upon him and it does not fall upon me. Further, he has just said, “Christ hath redeemed us ‘from’ the curse of the Law,” a preposition that means ‘out from.’ So that as a result of the curse falling upon him, I am out from under the curse. Beautiful theology in three prepositions, ‘under’, ‘over’, ‘out (from)’.

Only three Greek prepositions translated as, ‘Under’, ‘Over’ and ‘Out From’, yet what a wealth of good news. It has all been accomplished by one man, the God/Man who is our only refuge. Because of His doing and dying we are guaranteed of a warm and rich welcome at the throne of grace.

And that’s the Gospel Truth

Review for September 12

user@domain.com — 2010-09-14T11:20:32-04:00

Years ago I heard that Buck Hatch, former professor at Columbia Bible College used to ask the following question at bedtime. Did I please you today Lord?
I brought this up in light of the fact that we are studying the doctrine of God. Hopefully this kind of question from Buck Hatch will cross our minds during these coming weeks as we learn about the attributes of God from the Bible. I then went on to have us look at a number of verses that have to do with how we are to please God as the people of God. Even though this is not covered in the notes you can listen to the first part of the class audio if you would like to review.
Just click on this LINK.

During this past Sunday we covered the first two of the six incommunicable attributes of God. I was able to get through the attributes of self existence and self sufficiency. During this coming week we should be able to finish up on the attributes of infinity, omnipresence, eternity and immutability. After that in the coming weeks I will take self sufficiency and immutability and dive a bit deeper into both of these attributes.

2x4 Ministry gets into the "swing" of things

user@domain.com — 2010-09-11T11:50:08-04:00

Kay Jones and Patti Duckworth are leading the 2x4 ministry in our community. Here is a short description from Kay of what was scheduled for today.

As you guys know, the Intersect and Brimberry/Jones ladies are building a Habitat home together- Saturday, September 11th in Matthews. Habitat asks that we provide lunch for our group and for the Habitat volunteers that day. The maximum number will be 35 . I have contacted Outlaw BBQ in Matthews and they are giving us a great sack lunch price of $5.00 pp. This will include a BBQ sandwich, chips, slaw, beverage, cups and napkins. We will just need to provide ice and dessert.

Here is an interview with Kay Jones regarding the activities for today and the 2x4 ministry. Click on this LINK. For a view of the doorknob that Kay refers to in this interview click on this LINK. No one brings you 2x4 ministry updates like we do!

Flash news bulletin this just in from Habitat in Matthews. Nancy Brimberry has installed the doorstop! Don’t try this at home kids.

In preparation for Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-09-10T11:00:04-04:00

An overview in the Doctrine of God

In studying the notes for Sunday it became apparent to me that we are only going to scratch the surface as to the attributes of God. My hope is that these notes will get many of you started and excited about a lifetime study regarding the doctrine of God. I got out some of my reference studies this week and quickly observed from both Stephen Charnock's "The Existence and Attributes of God" and John Frames's "The Doctrine of God" represent about 2000 pages of writing on this subject. And then in review of the notes I plan to cover on Sunday I realize this to be a brief thumb nail sketch on the God of the Bible. There is so much to cover and yet so little time. So my strategy is to summarize these attributes clearly and concisely praying that this will lead many of you to further study and growth in this area.

Doctrine of God

Preparation for Sunday

This week we will start into the specific incommunicable attributes of God. My recommendation is that each of you prepare for this Sunday by starting with slide #16-45. These notes will give us an overview of the following attributes:

Self Existence
Self Sufficiency
Infinity
Omnipresence

This means that the following Sunday (September 19) will be reserved for the discussion of the last two incommunicable attributes we plan to cover which are eternity and immutability.

Review for September 5

user@domain.com — 2010-09-05T17:59:37-04:00

This week in our teaching I concentrated on the method of how we are to study the doctrine of God. Over the years theologians, scholars, pastors and teachers have referred to the transcendence of God and the immanence of God. And today we started out by reading Psalm 104 to saturate ourselves in the transcendence of God. Also I pointed out in verses of Scripture like Isaiah 57:15 and Isaiah 66:1-2 that we see first the majesty of God and then the mercy of God. The other set of categories that we will spend the most time with are the attributes of God that are both incommunicable and communicable. Next week I will cover the 6 incommunicable attributes of God. And then in the following weeks I will concentrate on the self sufficiency and immutability for our further study of these attributes.

May I encourage you to take time this week as your read through the Bible and have your private devotion time, to meditate on the God of the Bible that is both transcendent and immanent.

SBS Class September 52010

Audio sound bite played for class regarding the gospel. Click on this LINK.

The mission of the church

user@domain.com — 2010-09-03T08:49:03-04:00

This is an excellent article that Kevin DeYoung’s blog site.

Here is Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the great Welsh preacher and longtime pastor at Westminster Chapel in London, explaining what Acts 6 can teach us about the mission of the church and the pastor:

But, and in many ways the most interesting statement of all, I sometimes think in this connection, is one that is found in the sixth chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles where we are told that a great crisis arose in the life of the early Church. I know of nothing that speaks more directly upon the present state and condition of the Church, and what is her primary task, than this sixth chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The essential message is in the first two verses: ‘And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God, and serve tables.’

This is surely a most interesting and important statement, a crucial one. What was the Church to do? Here is a problem, here are these widows of the Grecians, and they are not only widows but they are in need and in need of food. It was a social problem, perhaps partly a political problem, but certainly a very acute and urgent social problem. Surely the business of the Christian Church, and the leaders particularly, is to deal with this crying need: Why go on preaching when people are starving and in need and are suffering? That was the great temptation that came to the Church immediately; but the Apostles under the leading and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the teaching they had already received, and the commission they had had from their Master, saw the danger and they said, ‘It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God, and serve tables’. This is wrong. We shall be failing in our commission if we do this. We are here to preach this Word, this is the first thing, ‘We will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the Word.’

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-09-02T18:58:44-04:00

“If we would be sanctified, our course is clear and plain — we must begin with Christ. We must go to Him as sinners, with no plea but that of utter need, and cast our souls on Him by faith. . . . If we would grow in holiness and become more sanctified, we must continually go on as we began, and be ever making fresh applications to Christ.”

- J. C. Ryle, quoted by Tim Chester in You Can Change (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway, 2010), 44.

Preaching Christ or preaching about Christ?

user@domain.com — 2010-09-02T12:58:07-04:00

Here is an excellent blog article from Ray Ortlund

There is a difference between preaching Christ and preaching about Christ. Preaching Christ is presenting him so clearly and directly that the people experience the sermon this way: “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified” (Galatians 3:1). Preaching about Christ is presenting ideas related to him. It’s a good thing to do. But preaching Christ is more profound, more daring and more helpful.

Preparing for Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-09-02T11:12:30-04:00

The Stretching Process
After Nancy and I got married I decided to take Tae Kwan Do. The biggest problem for me was the stretching. My instructor "Master Sir" as he was called was determined to get me loosened up. So one day while on the mat he had me sit down and spread my legs to the side as far as they would go. Then he told me to touch my head on the floor. Well, I couldn't do it until "Master Sir" got behind me and pushed so hard that my head did hit the floor. The next day I looked and the inside of my thighs were black and blue. I learned that stretching often causes pain physically and I have noticed that when teaching doctrine it does that spiritually. If you have never studied the "Doctrine of God" over a period of time my warning to you is prepare to be stretched. As one pastor put it "better your mind be stretched to the breaking point as opposed to breaking God’s word.”

This week I will pick up right where we left off last Sunday.

Point #1 - Methodology in the Doctrine of God
I am going to talk about my two favorite ways to study the doctrine of God as it relates to the method.
First we will briefly look at the transcendence of God which will include a working definition along with Scriptural support. And then we will do the same with the immanence of God. If you want to see both of these categories displayed in Scripture then I suggest that you study:

Isaiah 57:15
Isaiah 66:1-2

Reading the Bible with humility

user@domain.com — 2010-08-31T16:51:45-04:00

He that desires to read his Bible with profit, must first ask the Lord Jesus to open the eyes of his understanding by the Holy Spirit. Human commentaries are useful in their way. The help of good and learned men is not to be despised. But there is no commentary to be compared with the teaching of Christ. A humble and prayerful spirit will find a thousand things in the Bible, which the proud, self-conceited student will utterly fail to discern. - J.C. Ryle

Baptist Bestseller

user@domain.com — 2010-08-31T16:07:26-04:00

From the Sacred Sandwich Blog Site

Questions and Answers

user@domain.com — 2010-08-30T12:05:29-04:00

This is from “The Expositor” blog site.

Here are two questions and answers from the Westminster Larger Catechism

Q. 159. How is the Word of God to be preached by those that are called thereunto?

A. They that are called to labour in the ministry of the Word, are to preach sound doctrine, diligently,in season and out of season; plainly, not in the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power; faithfully, making known the whole counsel of God; wisely, applying themselves to the necessities and capacities of the hearers; zealously, with fervent love to God and the souls of his people; sincerely, aiming at his glory, and their conversion, edification, and salvation.

Q. 160. What is required of those that hear the Word preached?

A. It is required of those that hear the Word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-08-30T05:59:32-04:00

"If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do not suppose that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Savior, while they are wedded to their idols, and their hearts are still in love with sin. If I do so I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel, insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness".

- Charles H. Spurgeon

Review for August 29

user@domain.com — 2010-08-29T14:23:38-04:00

The Power Point notes for this morning’s class comprised 38 slides and we covered 28 of them. My recommendation is for each of you attending to read through these notes at least two times this week. Here is the main outline that I would like you go grasp from the teaching this morning.

1. The 3 key principles of learning how to learn doctrine.

2. We can’t fully understand God.

3. And yet the Bible says we can know God as He has chosen to reveal Himself to us.

4. It is very important to understand how the Bible teaches us to study the attributes of God

5. Finally we must have “Methodological Balance” when we come to the Doctrine of God

SBS Class August 292010

On your mark...get set...go!

user@domain.com — 2010-08-28T11:06:29-04:00

The first two years in our Bible doctrine class has been a bit like going to the mountains in the fall. You start driving up the Blue Ridge Parkway and then you stop for a while at the various overlook’s and take a glimpse at the mountains. It is somewhat slow paced but you keep moving and as you continue to have the overlook views you pull over and take in the scenery.

However this year we are going to pick up the pace and head straight toward four essential doctrines that also match the plan of redemption from Genesis to Revelation (God, man, Christ and salvation). This week begins our official start through all the Doctrine of God material. There is much to cover and we only have 19 weeks to get it all in. So, I am going to ask each of you to take the study notes and allow them to aid you in the learning of these important doctrines. Hopefully there will be enough definitions, illustrations and support verses to keep you participating in study for some time.

This week I would like you to pay close attention to the following items:
1. The 3 key principles of learning how to learn doctrine. This is not just a class where I am going to teach you doctrine. But also I am going to do my best to teach you how to learn basic Bible interpretation. So when you come to class please understand that I am teaching on a specific doctrine and also trying to help you learn how to teach yourself properly from Scripture.

2. We can’t full understand God. The Bible does not contain everything that is known about God but all that we need to know to have an intimate relationship with Him.

The Word of God

user@domain.com — 2010-08-26T17:13:19-04:00

from Moody’s Handbook of Theology

Study Resources for 2010-2011

user@domain.com — 2010-08-26T14:25:09-04:00

Study Resources

The first book you see is Bible Doctrine. This is an excellent resource that is very reader friendly when it comes to the terms and definitions we will be covering this year regarding doctrine. I am planning to cover quite a bit of material as we push from week to week. Hopefully those in our class will review the notes but this book is an excellent tool for deeper study. My challenge in to get each of you to take what we are learning and teach others in your own sphere of influence. At the conclusion of this year my prayer is that you have a clear and concise understanding as you relate the Doctrine of God, Doctrine of man, Doctrine of Christ and the Doctrine of Faith to the overall plan of the Bible.

The second book The Gospel Primer is my favorite where it comes to teaching how to preach the gospel to yourself on a daily basis. Unfortunately many people today in the church think of the gospel on in terms of what got them saved. But the apostle Paul says that the gospel is the power of salvation unto God for all those who continue believing (my paraphrase for Romans 1:16). You don't just need the gospel to get saved but rather to continue being saved!

Understanding Neo-orthodoxy

user@domain.com — 2010-08-26T12:03:34-04:00

Learning and Living is a basic Bible doctrine class. But from day one I have been exhorting the importance of Biblical hermeneutics when reading and interpreting Scripture. And I have said more than once we have three basic groups within the evangelical sector today.

1. Orthodox - this group believes that the Bible is the word of God
2. Liberal - this group believes that the Bible contains the word of God
3. Neo-orthodox - this group believes that the Bible becomes the word of God

I have also noted that the fastest growing segment in the evangelical church of the 30 and under group is that of neo-orthodoxy. Even though you may be unfamiliar with this movement it is large and I believe dangerous. Dr. John McArthur has written a concise article that will help us to understand better what those who are neo-orthodox really believe and what is their guiding hermeneutic.

Neo-orthodoxy is the term used to identify an existentialist variety of Christianity. Because it denies the essential objective basis of truth—the absolute truth and authority of Scripture—neo-orthodoxy must be understood as pseudo-Christianity. Its heyday came in the middle of the twentieth century with the writings of Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebaur. Those men echoed the language and the thinking of [Soren] Kierkegaard, speaking of the primacy of “personal authenticity,” while downplaying or denying the significance of objective truth. Barth, the father of neo-orthodoxy, explicitly acknowledged his debt to Kierkegaard.

Neo-orthodoxy’s attitude toward Scripture is a microcosm of the entire existentialist philosophy: the Bible itself is not objectively the Word of God, but it becomes the Word of God when it speaks to me individually. In neo-orthodoxy, that same subjectivism is imposed on all the doctrines of historic Christianity. Familiar terms are used, but are redefined or employed in such a way that is purposely vague—not to convey objective meaning, but to communicate a subjective symbolism. After all, any “truth” theological terms convey is unique to the person who exercises faith. What the Bible means becomes unimportant, What it means to me is the relevant issue. All of this resoundingly echoes Kierkegaard’s concept of “truth that is true for me.”

Tozer speaks...

user@domain.com — 2010-08-26T11:50:24-04:00

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.” ~ A.W. Tozer

Preaching upgrade 2.0

user@domain.com — 2010-08-25T10:33:29-04:00

From the Sacred Sandwich Blog

"Accurately Handling..."

user@domain.com — 2010-08-24T15:47:49-04:00

Our banner verse this year is 2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. During the year as I find articles or short devotions on this verse I will post them on our website. The following is an article from the Puritan Lad blog site.

What sort of book is the Bible? The answer to that question has great ramifications in how it is preached. Too often, the Bible is misused even by those who believe it's truths, but miss the ultimate story.

First, there are the therapeutics, who treat the Bible as a therapy manual. They are convinced that, whatever problem they may face, there is a specific answer to that problem if they can just find the right passage. If you are lonely, hurt, or depressed, the correct verse will fix your problem and help you "fulfill your purpose".

There are the enchanters, who use the Bible as a magic spell to encounter whatever issues they face. Just observe the popularity that surrounded the mysticism of the "Jabez Prayer" chants and the "Meal that Heals" potions from a few years ago.

Then there are the pragmatics. For these, the Bible is a how-to manual. They believe that. if you want to make more money, become more healthy, find the right diet, improve your relationships, or have better sex, there is a specific Scripture passage for each of these areas. (Note for modern evangelicals: The Bible does NOT teach us "how to have great sex").

Along these same lines are the legalists and the moralists, who hold that the Bible teaches us ways to please God by our works. Just "do good", and if you struggle, it is the job of the church to help you do better, usually resorting to pop-psychology and behavioral modification techniques.

However, while there are certainly practical teachings and wisdom that we can (and should) apply to our lives, the Bible is not a magic book, a therapy manual, a how-to instuction guide, or a book on ethics. The Bible, from beginning to end, is a story of redemption. It is how a Just and Holy God took His wrath, which was deserved to be poured out upon wicked and abominable men clothed in sin and deformity, and instead poured it upon His only Son. It is about God's love, not man's importance; God's grace, not man's worthiness. The Bible's main character is Christ, not the idols of "Me" and "purpose".

Let us not only live as those who believe the Word, but as workers who have "no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15).

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-08-24T15:31:29-04:00

"In his book, "The Courage to Be Protestant," David Wells writes: "The born-again, marketing church has calculated that unless it makes deep, serious cultural adaptations, it will go out of business, especially with the younger generations. What it has not considered carefully enough is that it may well be putting itself out of business with God.

"And the further irony," he adds, "is that the younger generations who are less impressed by whiz-bang technology, who often see through what is slick and glitzy, and who have been on the receiving end of enough marketing to nauseate them, are as likely to walk away from these oh-so-relevant churches as to walk into them."

Start preparing for Sunday...

user@domain.com — 2010-08-24T13:21:04-04:00

Last week was our introduction and launch into year three of our class. According to Nancy approximately 15% of those attending were visitors. My goal was to introduce myself to this community, give an overview and share banner verse for the year. So this brings me to the assignment which is to memorize 2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. I also would ask you to do some extended devotion and meditation on this verse during this year. This week I put a short article on the website about the first verb in this sentence "Be diligent." And if you refer to the study notes I have broken down each of the key words and have left for you to study on your own "word of truth."

Doctrine of God - Sunday August 29, 2010

This coming week we launch full force into the "Doctrine of God" in particular to knowing God. Can we know God and how are we to know God? The Bible is not all that is known about God but rather all that God chose to reveal to us about Himself. So this coming Sunday I am planning to cover the following topics within this teaching on the doctrine of God.

We can never fully understand God

Since God is infinite and we are finite when reading the truths in the Bible it becomes like pouring a 10,000 gallon truth into a thimble. The Bible tells us that God is incomprehensible and we learn in Psalm 145 that His greatness is unsearchable.
Other Scriptures that we will refer to on Sunday will be: 1 Corinthians 2:10-12, Psalm 145 and 147, Psalm 139 and Romans 11:33.

And yet we can truly know God

Though we have finite minds and cannot know God exhaustively we can know true things about God as revealed to us through the Bible. The Scriptures tell us that God is righteous, God is love and that God is Spirit. This doesn't mean that we know everything about the righteousness or love of God or any of the other attributes that we will study.
Some Scriptures I will refer us to here will be: Jeremiah 9:23-24, John 17:3, Hebrews 8:11, 1 John 5:20, Galatians 4:9, Philippians 3:10, and 1 John 2:13. (The key word to notice in these verses is the word know.)
The opportunity that we have as Christians to have this personal and intimate relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is the greatest of all the blessings in our Christian life.

"Be diligent"

user@domain.com — 2010-08-23T08:20:49-04:00

Yesterday in class I introduced our banner verse for the year which is 2 Timothy 2:15 - Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. Our growth in grace assignment for this week is to memorize this verse and one of our goals this year is to make this verse true in our lives.

Many of you know that we have discussed during the past two years what it means for a verb in the Greek to be in the imperative mood.

For example in our verse 2 Timothy 2:15 the word "Be diligent" is in the imperative mood which means mood of command. Here is what I want you to understand. God never demands from us (believers) that which He doesn't freely give to us. The command in the imperative actually becomes a promise because of the cross. So let's just briefly talk about the "Be diligent" in 2 Timothy 2:15. My concern is that when Christians hear a command without good categories they say "OK, I am going to be diligent." But the problem is if we are diligent in our flesh and we can be, then it is us that gets the glory! So the command "Be diligent" is best understood as something that only God can do through us in order to bring glory to His name. Therefore I need to pray for the diligence that He promises in order to secure this through the Spirit and not through my flesh.

A good example of this would be Abraham when he went into his handmaid Hagar. The child produced Ishmael was a child of the flesh. But when God comes and tells Abraham that he will have a child that God produces that child becomes Isaac and he is the child of promise. All that to say the command "Be diligent" can be produced as a child of the flesh which means we do it or a child of the promise which means God does it.

Review for August 22

user@domain.com — 2010-08-22T14:08:28-04:00

This is our third launch into a new fall semester with our SS class at Carmel. As you know on this Sunday we normally have new people in the class so it becomes more of an introduction class than anything else. Nancy informed me that almost 15% of the people today were visitors. So thank you for bearing with some of the same things that you have heard over the years from me as in regard to my personal story. I am going to stress the notes this year so that I can keep moving in our learning the doctrine of God. Allow me to make an appeal to you to read through the notes one to two times during the week. I mentioned this morning that what I don’t cover in class I expect you to review on your own.

The banner verse for our class this year is 2 Timothy 2:15. I want to encourage you to memorize and study this verse for yourselves. Hopefully some of the notes that I have provided can be an aid in your study. Thanks to those who have been faithful to pray for our class and this upcoming year. I can’t tell you how excited I am about all that we are going to be covering as it relates to the doctrines of God, man, Christ and salvation. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to let me know.

SBS Class August 222010

Orthodox vs. Liberalism

user@domain.com — 2010-08-20T17:03:13-04:00

The following quiz and answers may give you a good idea as to whether you are an evangelical orthodox or liberal:

Is the focus of Christianity what happens inside of you or what happens outside of you in history?

Is Jesus in your heart more important than Jesus in the manger, on the cross and on His throne?

Is Easter primarily about Jesus in your heart or Jesus being raised bodily on the third day?

Do you think of faith more as an inner experience than God's gift that is delivered to you through an external gospel?

Can you say that your faith has some value even if the empty tomb is not a historical fact?

Do you believe what you feel over the gospel of what you hear?

Do you think that people are basically good and just need better advice for how to live?

Do you think the essence of Christianity are deeds and not creeds?

Thanks to Michael Horton from the WhiteHorse Inn for these questions

Devotion in Malachi

user@domain.com — 2010-08-20T07:56:07-04:00

Our Bible reading this morning was the book of Malachi.

Read prayerfully and carefully the following text from Malachi 2:7-9:
7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
8 But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts,
9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

Steven Lawson offers this assessment of many pastors in today’s churches:
In their zeal to lead popular and successful ministries, many are becoming less concerned with pointing to the biblical text. Their use of the Bible is much like the singing of the national anthem before a ball game—something merely heard at the beginning, but never referenced again, a necessary preliminary that becomes an awkward intrusion into the real event. In their attempt to be contemporary and relevant, many pastors talk about the Scriptures, but, sadly, they rarely speak from them. Instead, they rush headlong to the next personal illustration, humorous anecdote, sociological quote, or cultural reference, rarely to return to the biblical text. How can pastors expect dying souls to become spiritually healthy if they never give them the prescribed remedy? How can pastors expect sinners to be converted and Christians to be sanctified if they fail to expound God’s Word …?

Lawson then adds these words from Merrill Unger:
To an alarming extent the glory is departing from the pulpit … The basic reason for this gloomy condition is obvious. That which imparts the glory has been taken away from the center of so much of our modern preaching and placed on the periphery. The Word of God has been denied the throne and given a subordinate place.

Ellsworth, R. (2007). Opening up Malachi (47–48). Leominster: Day One Publications.

Ready, Set and Launch

user@domain.com — 2010-08-19T10:52:28-04:00

Introduction on Sunday

Since this is our first Sunday into the fall launch I will take the opportunity to present our curriculum.
Also I am going to put forward our theme verse for the year which is 2 Timothy 2:15, along with some discussion on why we are a "learning" AND "living" the God-centered life class. In other words I am going to try and put some Biblical explanation for why it is important that both happen and not just one at the exclusion of the other. I also thought it may be helpful for me to give each of you a copy of the notes that I presented during the leadership session on Tuesday night.

Doctrine of God curriculum for August - December 2010

Learning the God-centered Life

Introduction (Starting August 29th)
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

For those especially who are new or looking to plant this year in a SS class my goal this coming week will be to give an overall view of our class as it relates to: “Learning the Christian Life and Living the Christian Life.” Much of the information in this blog article will be presented to our community on Sunday.
This is going to be year where I will introduce what I think are the best resources available for Bible study such as Logos Bible study software. We are planning a night and this will be for the entire class sometime in October to have an in depth look at this particular resource.

An exciting part of our Learning the God-centered life will occur with Dr. Bruce Ware in February 25-27 as he presents to us The Doctrine of Christ.

Are you ready for some Bible?

user@domain.com — 2010-08-17T14:35:46-04:00

Howard Hendricks, who is an excellent Bible teacher, says that the American Church is like a college football game. You have 50,000 people in the stands who are in desperate need of exercise watching 22 men on the field who are in desperate need of rest.

One of the goals of our SS community is to train and equip you in building the kingdom of God for the glory of God.
If you aren’t presently attending a SS class or if you are new to Carmel I would like to invite you to join us this Sunday-9:30 AM, at Carmel Baptist Church, in the Uptown Auditorium. During this fall semester we will be concentrating on the doctrine of God, as we look at the attributes that are specific only to God and those attributes which He graciously shares with us.

Since you are here at the website take a few minutes to look around. You will find notes from previous classes along with the audio of the teaching in July and August. Simply click on this LINK. Should you want to review the notes from class last week then click on this LINK.

Hope to see you this coming Sunday!

Reflection on Worship

user@domain.com — 2010-08-17T13:34:21-04:00

Here is a good article by Trevor Wax on the subject of worship today in the church.

When it comes to worship, we are frequently told that form doesn’t matter. Style is not what’s important. I get that. I’m not downing contemporary music or advocating a return to liturgy, organs and hymns. I’ve been in contemporary worship services that have put me on my knees before the holiness and majesty of God. Cultural forms adjust and adapt.

But in worship today, there is a tendency toward casualness. The emphasis on feeling God’s closeness in worship may short-circuit the possibility of being transformed by a glimpse of the Transcendent One. There’s hardly any room for feeling awe in worship, and I can’t help but think that part of our problem is the form.

Form and content mirror one another. A church with serious Bible preaching is going to have a serious worship service (contemporary or traditional isn’t what matters, but serious it will be). A church with a feel-good preacher is going to have peppy, feel-good music.

Christians need to sense the weight of God’s glory, the truths of God’s Word, the reality of coming judgment, and the gloriousness of God’s grace. Trying to package the bigness of this God into most casual worship services is like trying to eat steak on a paper plate. You can do it for awhile, but at some point, people will start saying, “I want a dish.”

If you would like to read the entire article then click on this LINK.

Christians Beware!

user@domain.com — 2010-08-17T12:17:45-04:00

“The heart of most religions is good advice, good techniques, good programs, good ideas, and good support systems. These drive us deeper into ourselves, to find our inner light, inner goodness, inner voice, or inner resources.

Nothing new can be found inside of us. There is no inner rescuer deep in my soul; I just hear echoes of my own voice telling me all sorts of crazy things to numb my sense of fear, anxiety, and boredom, the origins of which I cannot truly identify.

But the heart of Christianity is Good News. It comes not as a task for us to fulfill, a mission for us to accomplish, a game plan for us to follow with the help of life coaches, but as a report that someone else has already fulfilled, accomplished, followed, and achieved everything for us.”
—Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life, p. 20

6 Questions for Bible Study

user@domain.com — 2010-08-17T11:42:25-04:00

J.I. Packer gives us 6 questions we need to consider when we come to and study a section of Scripture.

(1) What do these words actually mean?

(2) What light do other scriptures throw on this text? Where and how does it fit in to the total biblical revelation?

(3) What truths does it teach about God, and about man in relation to God?

(4) How are these truths related to the saving work of Christ, and what light does the gospel of Christ throw upon them?

(5) What experiences do these truths delineate, or explain, or seek to create or cure? For what practical purpose do they stand in Scripture?

(6) How do I apply them to myself and others in our own actual situation? To what present human condition do they speak, and what are they telling us to believe and do?

J.I.Packer, Among God’s Giants: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, p138

Discipleship and God's word

user@domain.com — 2010-08-17T06:12:53-04:00

Getting ready to get ready

Last week Pat and I were able to discuss at length vision and plan for our class in the 2010-2011 year.
As part of our dialogue we hit on the word discipleship. Specifically we talked about how it is used in the Bible and what we can learn from this word moving forward as a community. I thought it might be helpful to post this as we get ready to kickoff our fall launch this coming Sunday in the uptown auditorium at Carmel. This is a brief discussion on the subject but I think it makes the point of why making disciples is critical and also what the Bible says about how we are to go about it.

Go and make disciples

The word disciple is the Greek word "mathetes"(noun) and basically it means to be a learner or a pupil. It appears in the New Testament 268 times.

When we arrive at Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." In this verse the word disciple now appears as a verb instead of a noun. Also as a point of interest, it is in the imperative mood which as you know by now is the mood of command. So according to this verse you and I are commanded to go out and make learners of Jesus. How are we doing as a class and as a church in relationship to this command?

The next logical question for us to ask is how are we to make disciples? Well to get that answer let's look at what Jesus said in the following verses:
John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

The word "continue" in John 8:31 is the Greek word meno and it means to remain in the same place over a period of time. And the Greek word for "word" is logos which means the entire word of God.
Now let's put all of this together in what the Puritans used to all Biblical logic. So if you are going to be a learner of Jesus (the great commission) then you are going to need to remain in His word consistently and diligently over a period of your lifetime. How are you ever going to be involved in making disciples if you are not a disciple?

Do you know the results that occur for those who make disciples? Just keep reading in John 8:32 - Jesus says they will know the truth. Now let me ask you a question "Who is the truth?" For that answer you need to check out John 14:6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. The answer to the question is Jesus is the truth! And how are we to know the truth? The key is for us as believers to abide in His word and as we do we become learners of Jesus. Think about it this way, how can you know and have a relationship with Jesus if you don’t know and have a relationship with His word?

Today's Bible interpretation "have it your way"

user@domain.com — 2010-08-16T17:23:27-04:00

I just read an article by Shane Rosenthal called “You’re so Vain, You Probably Think This Text is About You.” He starts the article talking about the book by Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell called “The Narcissism Epidemic.” These authors have documented the slow and steady growth of narcissistic attitudes, behaviors, and assumptions in various aspects of American life and culture. Reality TV both encourages and normalizes self-centered behavior. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook encourage us to post pictures and updates about our minute by minute activities no matter how trivial, and child-centered schools reward kids merely for exerting effort, even if the actual work is substandard. Rosenthal goes on to say unfortunately our churches have not been immune to this cultural virus for according to Twenge and Campbell, American religion which used to challenge narcissistic attitudes and behaviors is now in many respects part of the problem. In today’s religious climate where churches compete for adherents as fast-food franchises do for customers, many religious groups simply give people what they want. Because reducing narcissism is not always pleasant, most people aren’t going to attend churches that demand humility.

Review for August 15

user@domain.com — 2010-08-15T15:56:48-04:00

We are one week from our official fall 2010 launch. This was our pre-launch class regarding the “Doctrine of God.” Here are the three questions that we considered as part of this morning’s class.

What is at stake in pursuing a knowledge of God?
Does it matter if we know God rightly?
Does it matter if we grow in the knowledge of God?

I need to warn you, the curriculum for this year is going to be a bit like taking a sip from a fire hose. There are 19 teaching weeks starting next week through the end of the year. My goal is to complete our study in the doctrine of God within the 2010 year. Then as we turn the corner and head into 2011 we will study the doctrine of man until our retreat date at the end of February. At that time Dr. Bruce Ware will lead us into the doctrine of Christ and after that the doctrine of salvation that should take us into the summer.

Are you tired yet? If you are attending or a member of our class then may I encourage you to go through the notes on a weekly basis. There are going to be times when I will not be able to cover all the material in our time together on Sunday. Your responsibility especially when we come to the specific doctrines is to learn the definitions, illustrations that will help you to explain and also the Scriptural support.

Preparing for the August launch

user@domain.com — 2010-08-13T12:32:52-04:00

Pat and Kay joined us in Charleston this week for our annual leadership planning session. Since we are starting year #3 of our class it was important that we roll up our sleeves and get to work. As you can see by the following photo it was tough but somebody needed to do it. Should you want to see more of this intense planning and grueling work session then just click on this LINK.

Click on photo above

What does love look like?

user@domain.com — 2010-08-10T07:04:53-04:00

Andy Naselli over at Between Two Worlds gives an excellent summary of Paul David Tripp’s What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage. As a matter of fact Nancy and I were privileged to do some pre-marital counseling this past year and this is the material we used along with the Bible.

What does love look like?

Love is being willing to have your life complicated by the needs and struggles of your husband or wife without impatience or anger.

Love is actively fighting the temptation to be critical and judgmental toward your spouse, while looking for ways to encourage and praise.

Love is the daily commitment to resist the needless moments of conflict that come from pointing out and responding to minor offenses.

Love is being lovingly honest and humbly approachable in times of misunderstanding, and being more committed to unity and love than you are to winning, accusing, or being right.

Love is a daily commitment to admit your sin, weakness, and failure and to resist the temptation to offer an excuse or shift the blame.

Love means being willing, when confronted by your spouse, to examine your heart rather than rising to your defense or shifting the focus.

Love is a daily commitment to grow in love so that the love you offer to your husband or wife is increasingly selfless, mature, and patient.

Love is being unwilling to do what is wrong when you have been wronged but to look for concrete and specific ways to overcome evil with good.

Love is being a good student of your spouse, looking for his physical, emotional, and spiritual needs so that in some way you can remove the burden, support him as he carries it, or encourage him along the way.

Spurgeon: Preach Christ or Go Home!

user@domain.com — 2010-08-09T06:20:21-04:00

This is a post from Tony Reinke at the Gospel Coalition

The very idea of a “Christless sermon” appalled Charles Spurgeon. It was a plague he confronted repeatedly (and vividly) in his own sermons. Although sometimes overstated to make his point, his words are a healthy challenge today over 100 years after his death. Here’s a small collection of colorful quips:

“The motto of all true servants of God must be, ‘We preach Christ; and him crucified.’ A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.” [7/9/1876; sermon #2899]

“Leave Christ out? O my brethren, better leave the pulpit out altogether. If a man can preach one sermon without mentioning Christ’s name in it, it ought to be his last, certainly the last that any Christian ought to go to hear him preach.”[undated; sermon #768]

“Leave Christ out of the preaching and you shall do nothing. Only advertise it all over London, Mr. Baker, that you are making bread without flour; put it in every paper, ‘Bread without flour’ and you may soon shut up your shop, for your customers will hurry off to other tradesmen. … A sermon without Christ as its beginning, middle, and end is a mistake in conception and a crime in execution. However grand the language it will be merely much-ado-about-nothing if Christ be not there. And I mean by Christ not merely his example and the ethical precepts of his teaching, but his atoning blood, his wondrous satisfaction made for human sin, and the grand doctrine of ‘believe and live.’” [10/23/1881; sermon #1625]

The effect of sin

user@domain.com — 2010-08-09T06:12:50-04:00

From John MacArthur’s - ‘Man’s Biggest Problem’

This is vividly illustrated in a story told many years ago about Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci was painting his great masterpiece known as The Last Supper. He sought long for a model for Jesus Christ. At last he located a chorister in one of the churches of Rome who was lovely in life and lovely in features, a young man named Pietro Bandonelli. He used him for the portrait of Jesus Christ. Years passed, and as the painting was still unfinished, all the disciples had been portrayed except one, Judas Iscariot.

And now after all of these years da Vinci began again the search for a face. He wanted a face that was hardened by sin, he want a face that was contorted by lust and evil desire, and at last he found a dissolute beggar on the streets of Rome with a face so villainous he shuddered when he looked at him. He hired the man to sit for him as he painted the face of Judas on his canvas and when he was about to dismiss the man he said, I have not yet found out your name, to which the man replied, I am Pietro Bandonelli. I also sat for you as your model of Jesus Christ. The sinful years had disfigured the face, and that’s the way sin does it.

Are we under the 10 commandments?

user@domain.com — 2010-08-07T16:55:12-04:00

From DesiringGod Website

No. The Bible says we're not under the law.

I love Romans 7:4-6. By way of analogy, it says that you are married to the law. And you better stay married because if you leave this husband and go marry another you are going to be called an adulterer. But if your husband dies, then you can go and remarry.

And then Paul draws the analogy out—a little complex the way he does it—saying that you died to the law. You aren't married anymore, you can have another husband, namely Christ. He's raised from the dead.

So, our approach towards ethics is different. We don't ask the question, "Am I under the law?" We are under grace. The law is already fulfilled perfectly by Jesus. We are in Jesus and as far justification goes, God sees it as completed for you, one-hundred percent. He says, "You've trusted my Son. You've been grafted in him. You are in Christ Jesus and he fulfilled the law perfectly. He covered all your sins." God sees you in and through Christ, therefore, as far as final judgment goes God is 100% for you. That is settled and nothing is going to change it.

Now, shall we sin that grace may abound? Paul says, "Dead men don't sin." If you've died to sin, how can you still live in it? The new birth is the writing of the law on our heart so that we are not under it, it is under us. It is just coming out.

Countdown to Launch

user@domain.com — 2010-08-06T10:44:43-04:00

Preparation for launch

On August 22 we will begin year #3 in our learning and living the God-centered life community. If you have not read our class mission statement recently, then please do so as part of the preparation for the launch.

“We exist as a community to spread a passion for Christ in such a way that His word becomes the food and daily nourishment for learning and living the God-centered life. A life in which we are transformed by the power of the Spirit, by seeing the face of God in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

As in our first two years I will put a strong emphasis on the following 3 basics that are key in order to learn and live the God-centered life:

Bible Reading
Bible Devotions
Bible Study

The "prosperity" gospel

user@domain.com — 2010-08-01T08:14:25-04:00

This article is from Dr. Michael Horton, professor at Westminster Seminary, who is the host of the popular national radio show The WhiteHorse Inn.

"Name it, claim it"; the "health-and-wealth" or "prosperity gospel" : these are nicknames for a heresy that in many respects is only an extreme version of perhaps the most typical focus of American Christianity today more generally. Basically, God is there for you and your happiness. He has some rules and principles for getting what you want out of life and if you follow them, you can have what you want. Just "declare it" and prosperity will come to you. God as Personal Shopper.

Although explicit proponents of the so-called "prosperity gospel" may be fewer than their influence suggests, its big names and best-selling authors (T. D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer) are purveyors of a pagan worldview with a peculiarly American flavor. It's basically what the sixteenth century German monk turned church reformer Martin Luther called the "theology of glory": How can I climb the ladder and attain the glory here and now that God has actually promised for us after a life of suffering? The contrast is the "theology of the cross": the story of God's merciful descent to us, at great personal cost, a message that the Apostle Paul acknowledged was offensive and "foolish to Greeks."

Reading the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-07-30T16:35:44-04:00

From the ESV Study Bible

To read the Bible “theologically” means to read the Bible “with a focus on God”: his being, his character, his words and works, his purpose, presence, power, promises, and precepts. The Bible can be read from different standpoints and with different centers of interest, but this article seeks to explain how to read it theologically.

The Bible: The Church's Instruction Book

All 66 books of the Bible constitute the book of the Christian church. And the church, both as a whole and in the life of its members, must always be seen to be the people of the book. This glorifies God, its primary author.

God has chosen to restore his sin-spoiled world through a long and varied historical process, central to which is the creating—by redemptive and sanctifying grace—of what is literally a new human race. This unfinished process has so far extended over four millennia. It began with Abraham; it centers on the first coming of the incarnate Lord, Jesus Christ; and it is not due for completion till he comes again. Viewed as a whole, from the vantage point of God's people within it, the process always was and still is covenantal and educative. Covenantal indicates that God says to his gathered community, “I am your God; you shall be my people,” and with his call for loyalty he promises them greater future good than any they have yet known. Educative indicates that, within the covenant, God works to change each person's flawed and degenerate nature into a new, holy selfhood that expresses in responsive terms God's own moral likeness. The model is Jesus Christ, the only perfect being that the world has ever seen. For God's people to sustain covenantal hopes and personal moral ideals as ages pass and cultures change and decay, they must have constant, accessible, and authoritative instruction from God. And that is what the Bible essentially is.

This is why, as well as equipping everywhere a class of teachers who will give their lives to inculcating Bible truth, the church now seeks to translate the Bible into each person's primary language and to spread universal literacy, so that all may read and understand it.

Learn to "Be Still"

user@domain.com — 2010-07-30T14:27:56-04:00

This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship president Mark Earley.

It’s hard to believe, but school is just a few weeks away. And you know what that means—hauling children to and from classes, dance lessons, music lessons, sports practice, homework, church activities, and on and on. It's no wonder that many parents (not to mention their children) get worn out

Busyness is a problem all of us face. In fact, a 2007 study asked over 20,000 teens and adults if "the busyness of life gets in the way of developing [their] relationship with God." The response? Six in 10 Christians said they are too busy for God.

Are you? That's the question which Ann Kroeker poses in her new book, Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families.

Of all the groups most affected by the busyness epidemic—perhaps the American family has been the worst hit. A self-assumed pressure to make sure the children get every opportunity to give them an edge academically, socially, physically, and even spiritually, pushes us to push them. But somewhere in the process, something is getting buried. And it might just be our souls.

Homework 2010-2011

user@domain.com — 2010-07-28T08:01:30-04:00

Sometimes I am asked if there is homework for our class. The answer is yes and the assignments fall into three specific categories.

Homework Assignment #1 - Read through the entire Bible
We are presently reading through a 52 week Bible reading plan that gives a specific section of Bible reading on a daily basis.
So for the person that wants to know, what is the homework for the day, I first want to point them to Bible reading plan. Recent church statistics show that over 90% of those within the church have not read through the Bible at least one time. It is harder to teach when there is not an understanding of the Scriptures as a whole. One of the key components the church is missing today in Bible study is being able to see the big picture connection from Genesis to Revelation. In the first month of our class we covered many different aspects of the Bible. One morning I asked the class, "who is the author of Genesis?" Someone spoke up and said "Moses" to which I replied "that is correct."
Then I repeated the question a different way and asked "who is the real Author of Genesis?" At that point someone else spoke up and said "the Holy Spirit" to which I replied "that is correct." So even though the Bible is composed of 66 books with over 40 different authors, there is one mind and one Author that is connecting it all together.

Therefore we should ask questions and know things like; how is Genesis connected to Revelation, Job to Romans, 1 Samuel to Luke? Getting the overall big picture of the Bible is like putting together a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. We have all learned that the best way to put together this kind of puzzle in to find all the border pieces first. But not only that, we need to have a picture of the box top. By reading the Bible over and over you are getting the picture of the box top and as you learn Bible doctrine that starts to set the border pieces in place. Over the years I have found many in the church don't understand the following two big picture items in regard to the Bible;

1. What is the overall theme of the entire Bible?
2. What is the overall organizing plan that God has set out from Genesis to Revelation?

Again as in the illustration of the jigsaw puzzle these two items above are like the box top. As you read and re-read the Bible you will start to develop a solid understanding as to the unity of the Scriptures. I am a proponent of exegetical Bible study in which you study individual books of the Bible. But I have found it most helpful instead of picking up a piece of the puzzle and observing it and studying each of the aspects of the puzzle piece, we need to have a good picture of the box top that we study first.

Running the race

user@domain.com — 2010-07-26T11:19:37-04:00

The race begins

Heb. 12:1 ¶ Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

The Christian life can be likened to that of a marathon and not a sprint. During the last two years in our class we have been warming up, doing the proper stretching and loading up on carbs the night before the race. In August we are going into full marathon mode. If you haven't yet received your runners number and entrance registration form then please apply today. During the race you can expect Bible reading that will take you through the Bible in one year, Bible devotions that hopefully you will be sharing with the family on a weekly basis and Bible doctrine that needs to be learned and lived. This is an appeal to all who are part of our SS community to get into the race! Don't be casual about your Christian life! Jesus says in Revelation 3:16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. A.W. Tozer writes that the thoughts you think about God are the more important thoughts you will ever have. If I could add anything to that statement I would say the most important thing are "correct" thoughts about God.

So why do we need a laser like focus on the Doctrine of God? Well, unfortunately in our culture many have created a god that is not the God of the Bible. The goal as we launch in August will be to provide a clear, concise and hermeneutically sound foundation as we study the God of the Bible. Read carefully what Jesus prays in John 17:3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. So it is very important that we know the God of the Bible by correctly knowing what the word of God reveals to us about Him.

Sunday's class

This past Sunday I gave an overall summary of the 66 books in the Bible. The conclusion of the class on Sunday was the theme for the entire Bible which I believe to be "The Glory of God." My recommendation is that you read through these notes during the week. If I were to give a test, the questions from this past Sunday’s notes would be as follows:

Give me the structure or an outline of the Old Testament and the New Testament
Define the glory of God, give Scripture to support it and provide for me an illustration

Review for July 25

user@domain.com — 2010-07-25T19:24:00-04:00

This morning we continued in our summer teaching series called Reviewing the Basics. The goal this morning was to see the unity of Scripture. Unfortunately we ran out of time before I could cover the notes on the theme of the Bible which is the glory of God. Please take some time this week to read through the notes. The homework assignment is to:

Define the word glory
Give Scriptural support for the glory of God as the theme of the Bible
Illustrate the glory of God for a 10 year old to understand
Discuss the application for your life

Additional study notes are included that will help and encourage you in “how to” study the Bible.

SBS Class July 252010

Summer 2010

user@domain.com — 2010-07-22T12:10:43-04:00

The fall launch for our class in on August 22. I want to warn you up front that we are going to be moving at a fast pace regarding the doctrine of God. Therefore I am taking the time this summer to review as best we can with some of the important basics for Bible study from the past two years.

I want to appeal to each of you as part of our class leadership to be in prayer for the coming year. In the 2010 and 2011 year, Lord willing, we are going to cover

Doctrine of God
Doctrine of man
Doctrine of Christ

And when we get into the Spring we again will take our 5 weeks and "march to the cross." As you know by now this will be an extensive look and study into the various doctrines of salvation. I am hoping again to cover justification, regeneration, sanctification, propitiation, redemption and resurrection. My goal is for you to know definitions, Scripture support and illustrations to the point that you could explain each of these to a 10 year old.

If you are interested in a more detailed format of the teaching for the 2010-2011 year then simply click on this LINK and scroll to pages 2-4.

Summer teaching series "The Basics of sound Bible study"

Introduction to the Basics

We cannot understate the importance of the basics in our overall life. This goes all the way back to our earliest learning in grade school when we had to learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Later on I would go into sports and I can remember all of the practice hours that I put in on the basketball and tennis court. The majority of that time was not in playing the game but in drilling the basics so that we could play and win the game. Then I got married got a job and quickly started to learn the basics of how to manage our finances as a couple. I remember one of the first lessons I received from Nancy's father who was a very successful entrepreneur, who said to me "learn to live at a lifestyle that is less than you earn and invest the difference." When I became a Christian the gentleman who discipled me the first 3 years taught me the basics of Bible study. We talked almost every single day except for Sunday's and it was constantly reinforced that I must learn the basics of sound Bible study.

And those basics were divided for me into 2 main areas.

The Heart
The Head

Even though I have spent time going into both of these in the past year I never want to wander far from these important principles of Bible study. So allow me in this newsletter to review with you and for you the importance of the heard and the head in Bible study.

Review for July 18

user@domain.com — 2010-07-21T06:07:43-04:00

SBS Class July 182010

On Sunday I had planned to cover briefly the theme of the Bible and then start on the plan from Genesis to Revelation. However instead I went through some of the details in Scripture when studying a word. For example I went back to the verse in Ephesians 2:8 and looked at the verb saved. Again the point was the importance of verbs and how the tense, voice and mood are critical to the meaning. Then I mentioned the two key reasons that people don’t study the Bible which have to do with the heart and the head. I have also included these two things in the notes with Scripture illustrations.

By the way a quick outline for this system of Biblical Hermeneutics is as follows:

Author’s Background
Theme
Plan
Context
Words
Grammar

All of the above items fit within the umbrella called the unity of Scripture. As you can read in the study notes I compare the unity of Scripture with that of a jigsaw puzzle. There are two things that are needed in order to put the puzzle pieces together. First you need a border and I am calling that Bible Doctrine. And then you need a Box Top in order to see the whole puzzle as to what you are putting together. I am calling the Box Top the theme and plan of the Bible.

My plan this coming week is to look at the theme and plan of the entire Bible. Hope to see you on Sunday

Why a transformed life IS NOT proof of salvation

user@domain.com — 2010-07-14T06:38:07-04:00

Before you pick up the stones read the following article. My background as some of you know is business consulting rooted in the self help movement of men like Eric Berne, Napoleon Hill, Maxwell Maltz, and Stephen Covey just to name a few. Each one of these men wrote and taught methods and philosophies that were and are very life transformational for their students. In light of that kind of thinking which has influenced the American church, I came across this excellent blog article by Daniel Neades.

Many religions transform lives. Mormonism has produced zealous clean-living converts who would put most evangelicals to shame in their general moral conduct. And radical Islam certainly transforms the lives of those who decide to become suicide bombers – and those of their victims.

Self-help books transform lives. Here’s one not atypical comment of many concerning Stephen R. Covey’s bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:

This book changed my life. After reading this book back in 1997 my whole thinking about myself and others changed. I wish they teach this book in high school in every country in the world. Since 97 I buy this book and give it as gift to anyone I come across, especially to young people. You read it and judge it.

The religion of the Pharisees transformed lives. Yet Jesus said of them:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. (Matthew 23:15, NKJV)

Clearly, Jesus didn’t approve of that particular sort of life transformation.

We should be concerned that Pharisaism, which was really all about making God’s law doable, is alive and well in far too many of today’s churches. Whenever anyone gives you five simple steps to keep God’s law (whether it is to stay out of debt, or have healthy relationships, etc.), understand that Pharisaism is the religion being offered. Likewise, when someone preaches the law and tells you to just go out and do it. But the Bible tells us that God’s law exists primarily to show us our sin – it does not have the power to make us righteous:

Review for July 11

user@domain.com — 2010-07-12T06:32:44-04:00

SBS Class July 112010

It is great to be back after time away this summer. First of all I would like to thank both Allen Cleveland and Wayne Atcheson for teaching our class while Nancy and I have been gone.

I think I can speak on behalf of the leadership team and say that our main goal is to get the people of God back into the word of God, so the word of God can get back into the people of God. And the ultimate reason for this goal is for Christ to be glorified through us as we become more and more satisfied in Him.

A prayer on the 4th of July

user@domain.com — 2010-07-04T08:40:16-04:00

This is from Scotty Smith at the Gospel Coalition blog site:

Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Dear Lord Jesus, it’s the 4th of July weekend—a holiday set aside to remember and revel in the freedom we enjoy as citizens of America. Two things immediately come to mind as I think of the “4th”. I thank you for our country, as broken as she is, and for the liberties and privileges I have as a citizen of the United States. And I thank you that I escaped childhood with all my fingers, given how many fireworks I abused on and around this holiday!

But that for which I’m most grateful, as I think of the “4th” is the consummate freedom I enjoy as a citizen of heaven—as a member of the “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God… called to declare your praises, for you have called us out of darkness into your wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).

To be set free by you, Jesus, is to be free indeed (John 8:36). I will gladly enjoy the accouterments of the “4th of July” this weekend. But I will resolutely stand firm… for the rest of my life… in the freedom for which you have set us, your people, free.

I praise you, Jesus, that I am free from the guilt of my sin, for you took my place on the cross, exhausting the judgment I deserve. I praise you for freedom over the power of sin, for you have broken its dominion in my life. I praise you for freedom from the fear of death, for you removed its sting and robbed the grave of its victory.

I praise you that I can now obey God from my heart, and not out of pride, pragmatics or pretense. I praise you for the freedom to come boldly to the throne of grace—into the very holy of holies, for you have secured this “new and living way” for us. I praise you for the freedom of repentance—for you have born my shame and I don’t have to pretend or pose anymore. I praise you for the freedom to risk, instead of rusting the rest of my life, for life is no longer about performance, but your praise.

Jesus, by the power of the gospel, I will seek to stand firm in these, and many more freedoms you’ve won for us, and I will seek to resist all slaveries until the Day you return to finish this magnificent “liberation suite.” Hallelujah, what a Savior you are! Hallelujah, what a salvation you freely give us! So very Amen, I pray, in your liberating and lovely name.

Devotion in Psalm 119

user@domain.com — 2010-07-02T11:41:10-04:00

Courtesy of the ESV online study Bible

On Wednesday our Bible reading was in Psalm 119. The words in the image above appear over 150 times in this particular Psalm. It seems whenever I read this Psalm I am drawn to verses 33-40. (ESV)

[33] Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
[34] Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
[35] Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
[36] Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
[37] Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.
[38] Confirm to your servant your promise,
that you may be feared.
[39] Turn away the reproach that I dread,
for your rules are good.
[40] Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life!

What is the focus?
The statutes of God
The law of God
The commandments of God
The testimonies of God
The ways of God
The promises of God
The precepts of God

Bible Basics

user@domain.com — 2010-06-23T07:57:43-04:00

The BIBLE in 5 CHRIST CENTERED DIVISIONS

1. ANTICIPATION - If you were to read through the Old Testament over and over it would leave you with a strong impression that someone is coming. And that would in fact be correct because the Old Testament is constantly pointing to the coming of Christ.
Do you remember what Jesus explained to the two men on the road to Emmaus? Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. Therefore when we read the Old Testament we need to be aware that it speaks of the Jesus Himself.

2. MANIFESTATION - When we arrive at the books of Matthew-John we can see that He is here! The gospels in the New Testament record for us the birth, life, teaching, ministry, miracles, rejection, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
This means that Jesus is the unfolding or declaration of God the Father to us, to see the Son is to see the Father. Therefore as we read the Bible and pull out the truth from the text, to do so correctly means that we will see Jesus.

3. PROCLAMATION - In the book of Acts, we have the resurrected Jesus giving instructions to His disciples in Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” In Acts Chapter 2 the Spirit fills those at Pentecost and this begins the taking of the message to Jerusalem, Judea, Sumaria, and then to the outer most parts of the earth.

Matt Chandler challenges Southern Baptists to get back to the gospel

user@domain.com — 2010-06-18T06:12:41-04:00

This articles from the Christian Post

A young evangelical preacher known for his no-frills sermons didn’t go soft when it came to rebuking pastors who are preaching something other than the Gospel and those who are pretending to be godly.

Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, addresses Southern Baptists at the Pastors’ Conference, June 14, in Orlando, Fla.
“I, unfortunately, with a great deal of sorrow have walked away from the idea that all of you are men and women of the Word,” Matt Chandler of The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, told a group of Southern Baptist pastors Monday. “I’ve just come to find that a lot of you are really good at clichés and really bad at tying in the Word.”

Chandler, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for brain cancer, was in Orlando, Fla., as one of several well-known speakers during the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference.

A pastors event is held every year just ahead of the denomination’s annual meeting to encourage and refresh those who lead congregations in the largest Protestant denomination in the country.

Though Southern Baptists overall are recognized for being conservative evangelicals, Chandler took the group back to the core of their faith the Gospel. After all, someone can grow up in the church, go to Vacation Bible School every summer and participate in all the programs and still not understand the Gospel, he indicated.

Chandler has found some pastors to be preaching the Gospel as a means of justification but failing to teach the Gospel as a means of sanctification. That results in churches primarily focused on evangelism and having “no care in the world for the depths of spirituality and understanding the nature and character of God.” Read more...

The calendar offerings

user@domain.com — 2010-06-16T06:04:29-04:00

On Monday our Bible reading was in Numbers 25-28. In Chapter 28 there is a list of the offerings given by the LORD to Moses. Here is a summary of the calendar offerings that are courtesy of the Bible Knowledge Commentary. In the chart below you have the occasion for the offering, the type of offering and amount, and the section of Scripture that refers to the particular offering.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

The gospel is the power of God

user@domain.com — 2010-06-15T08:58:27-04:00

Romans 1:16 and the power of God

On Sunday I asked the question; do you think the apostle Paul knew something about God's power? Paul was a student of the Old Testament and knew of God's creation of the world, the delivering of His people through the Red Sea and at Mount Sinai where God wrote the ten commandments on tablets of stone.
Yes, the apostle Paul knew very well about the power of God. And yet when he pens the book of Romans he mentions the power of God as it relates to salvation. The very power of God according to Paul is located in the gospel.

Let's take a closer look at Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The context of this verse is Paul writing to the Christians in Rome. And he says that is important for these Christians to continue to believe the gospel because it is their salvation that is at stake. This is the point where many today in the American church would respond with "what did you just say?" Why do I need to continue being saved when I learned early on that I got saved? Herein lies the problem in that we have failed to teach people properly the different categories in regard to salvation.

The three categories in salvation

The first category in salvation is a past tense event called justification. This is when at a point in time a person receives Christ as Lord and Savior. It is at this time that God from His public courtroom in heaven declares this person to be righteous, which is grounded in the very life, death and resurrection of Christ. When we talk about someone that got saved we are really talking about when they got justified.

But now and But when

user@domain.com — 2010-06-13T20:23:40-04:00

We talked about in class today the phrase “but now” which we came across in Romans 6:22. At that time I made the comment that a fun study would be to look up the number of times the apostle Paul has a “but now” in the epistles. Well I decided to give you the verses on the “but now” and the “but when.” If you are looking for a way to put some variety in your devotion time then spend some time on these two phrases and the verses. Remember to read these in context which means reading verses prior to and after.

To enlarge and view simply click on either of the photos above

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-06-13T16:31:42-04:00

“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”

John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, 179.

(HT: OFI)

Review for June 13

user@domain.com — 2010-06-12T10:13:38-04:00

This morning we concluded our teaching on Romans Chapter 6. I am sad to be leaving Romans 6 but am thrilled that we have been able to dig in for the past 2 months. Wow, can you believe it? Time flies when you are studying the Bible. This teaching falls under the “doctrine of salvation.” And for the last 8 weeks we taken an in depth look from Romans as to what it means “to be the Christian you say you’ve become.”

SBS Class June 132010

Fishers of fish?

user@domain.com — 2010-06-12T08:46:21-04:00

Obviously Jim and Ken somehow misunderstood that Jesus called Peter, James and John “FROM” the water not “TO” the water. Hey guys you are to be a fishers of men not a fishers of fish. Where is Pastor Russ when you need him? Whatever...

For even a larger picture of this should you need one just click on the photo.

8 steps for understanding Romans 6

user@domain.com — 2010-06-11T12:33:10-04:00

Step #1 - Prepare the Heart

As someone once said "it doesn't do much good to tune the fiddle after the concert is over." There are many people who come to the Bible to get their hearts right but the key is to get your heart right before you come to the Bible.

This step is not negotiable but mandatory if there is going to be proper Bible study. The number one problem for why people don't read and study is due to sin that is tolerated or known in their life. Haven't you heard that sin keeps you from the Bible and the Bible keeps you from sin? Well that is very true.

In our first Q and A Session we dealt specifically with the problem of a heart that is hard toward the Lord. If you would like some further teaching on this subject then click on this LINK.

When I first was learning how to study the Bible the following verses were memorized to help me keep this in the forefront of my mind. These are verses that deal with affections of the heart toward God and His word.

Psalm 118:19 - Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Jeremiah 33:3 - Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

2 Chronicles 16:9 - For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him.

Step #2 - Read, Read, and Read Romans 6:1-23

We need to form better habits when it comes to reading large sections of Scripture. That is why since I have been so insistent about us as a class reading through the entire Bible each and every year. This forms a unity of Scripture in the mind that helps to connect all the dots. Because as we know there is one ultimate Author of each book and that is God Himself.

A practical way to start the day

user@domain.com — 2010-06-10T14:47:35-04:00

Many times I am asked about the "how to's" of the Christian life. When I started teaching on the major doctrines of the Bible in September 2006 my motto became "what we believe is how we behave." Therefore we need to have a strong foundation in basic Biblical doctrine so that our lives will reflect and display the glory of God! One of the most practical theologians, pastors and teachers that I have ever seen or heard is Dr. John Piper. I recently read an article on how he begins each new day in Christ.

Just remember the acronym APTAT

"A"
I acknowledge that apart from Christ I can do nothing of eternal value (John 15:5). I acknowledge with Paul in Romans 7:18, "In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing." I acknowledge that the old "I" which loved to deny this fact was crucified with Christ.

"P" -
I pray
I pray with Paul in 1 Thessalonians 3:12 that Christ would make me abound in love. I pray that grace might reign in my life through righteousness (Romans 5:21). I pray that God would produce in me the obedience he demands (Hebrews 13:21; 2 Thessalonians 1:11).

"T" -
I trust. This is the key because Galatians 3:5 says, "Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?" In other words, the ongoing work of the Spirit to enable us to love as we ought happens only as we trust the promises of God (Galatians 5:6). So by faith I lay hold on a promise like Isaiah 41:10: "Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." I trust that as I act, it will not be I but the power of Christ in me and me only clinging to him in faith.

Doctrine Divides...and that is good!

user@domain.com — 2010-06-10T08:48:04-04:00

Allow me to submit for your consideration, that “doctrine divides” is actually a good thing–a positive thing. It’s true that “doctrine divides,” and here’s what it divides:

The ones just wanting to be comfortable from the ones willing to take up their cross.

The false conversions from the true conversions.

The ones under law from the ones under grace.

The swine from the pearls.

The profane from the holy.

The tares from the wheat.

The goats from the sheep.

The wolves from the flock.

The hirelings from the shepherds.

The “other gospels” from the one true Gospel.

The false christs from the one true Christ.

The darkness from the Light.

The lies from the Truth.

The errors from the facts.

The wicked from the righteous.

The wide gate from the narrow gate.

The broad road from the narrow road.

and

The many paths from the only Way

If God hides it can you find it?

user@domain.com — 2010-06-10T08:34:54-04:00

This morning our Bible reading is in Proverbs 25 It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. So what does the Bible say about things that God may choose to hide? Check out Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

And I recall when the Lord Jesus had just come from Chorazin and Bethsaida where He preached the gospel but it was rejected by the people. Matthew 11:25-26"At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."

What is it that God might be hiding today? I think God is hiding the gospel from many (pastors and congregation) in the professing American church. Because we have become wise and learned (man-centered) instead of like little children (God-centered). We market, plan, promote events and even bring in consultants so we can be bigger and better. But where is the prayerful dependence on God? Are we seeking Him and waiting on Him? Is it more about what we want or is it more about what He wants? Is our behavior like that of a helpless child who must simply rest in the ability of the father to take care of each and every need?

Becoming like a child

If your Bible reading and devotion time is dry and boring it may be that you are not child like when approaching God's word. Do you pray for God to reveal His word to you because it is the very food you need and depend on in order to survive for the day? Is there an ongoing desperation for Christ as the One that you rest in and rely on? Do you know that sometimes people miss the gospel by 18 inches? That is the approximate distance between the head and the heart. May we as His people have a heart for God's word so that He would be pleased to reveal Himself to us for His glory!

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-06-09T15:36:35-04:00

Read and ponder this quote in lieu of what we have been studying in Romans 6.

"I often tell my congregation that when it comes to battling sin in our lives, the difference between Christians and non-Christians is not that non-Christians sin whereas Christians don't. The difference is found in which side we take in the battle. Christians take God's side against sin, whereas non-Christians take sin's side against God. In other words, a Christian will sin, but then he will turn to God and his Word and say, 'Help me fight against sin.' A non-Christian, even if he recognizes his sin, effectively responds, 'I want my sin more than God.'" - Mark Dever

One more time

user@domain.com — 2010-06-08T14:32:57-04:00

I was studying in Romans 6:15-23 this afternoon. In doing so I came across the following comment on Romans 6:17 which reads, But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.

The verb “delivered” is second person plural. The Greek text reads, “the form of doctrine into which you were delivered.” That is, in salvation, God constituted the believer according to this chapter (vv. 1–14) inwardly so that he would react to the doctrines of grace by nature (the divine nature) in such a way as to receive and obey them. We were delivered into the teaching (doctrine, didachē (διδαχη)) in that we were constituted in salvation so that we would obey it. Paul thanks God that whereas before salvation we were slaves of the evil nature, we were in salvation delivered (handed over paradidōmi (παραδιδωμι)) to the teachings of grace so that we become slaves of righteousness.
Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English reader (Ro 6:17). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

The point Wuest is making here is one we covered this past Sunday. The gospel is not delivered to you but in fact you are delivered to the gospel. And the only way that miraculous event can happen in your life is by God Himself.

The doctrine of God

user@domain.com — 2010-06-08T05:59:08-04:00

We will getting back to our study in the doctrine of God after next week’s final look at Romans 6. In order to refresh a bit here is a chart courtesy of the ESV online study Bible. As we return to the doctrine of God the first order of business is to continue in our study of the incommunicable attributes. These are the attributes that are privileged to God alone.

click on the photo above to enlarge

God's responsibility vs. man's responsibility

user@domain.com — 2010-06-07T07:55:08-04:00

Let's take a few minutes to dig a bit deeper into Romans 6:17-19. In the notes given (part 1 and part 2), plus the past two weeks of class you should have the flow of Paul's thought up to this point. So look with me at Romans 6:17:
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed

It's Greek to me

I want us to focus on the word "committed." This is a verb that is in the passive voice. Each Greek verb has the following 5 characteristics: (for more on this click on this LINK)

tense
voice
mood
person
number
This particular verb resides in the passive voice. It means that the action is happening to the subject. For example when I say "the ball hit Bert." In this sentence Bert is receiving the action of the verb. If I reverse the sentence "Bert hit the ball" this means that Bert is doing or providing the action of the verb.

God's responsibility

In Romans 6:17 I would argue that the form of teaching that Paul refers to here might be the doctrine of the gospel. And so here is how is what the sentence would mean considering the word "committed" is now in the passive voice. The believers in Rome did not have the gospel delivered to them but those in Rome were delivered over to the gospel. I know that may be an awkward way to talk but it is what the verse means.

Review for June 6

user@domain.com — 2010-06-06T15:12:17-04:00

SBS Class June62010

Fighting the good fight

user@domain.com — 2010-06-05T17:05:25-04:00

1. GRACE comes down (from God)

2. JOY rises (in the believer as they are satisfied in God)

3. LOVE overflows (into the lives of others)

It is easy to draw a chart but to live this out is where the "rubber meets the road" in the Christian life. I am constantly reading and listening to those who have modeled godly living in their lives and ministry.

The following are notes from a Dr. John Piper lecture on "how" he fights for joy! Hopefully this will encourage you to run the race, and keep the faith as you continue fighting the good fight.

Digging deeper in Romans 6:17

user@domain.com — 2010-06-05T12:19:00-04:00

Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed”

The apostle Paul wants us to understand the following three very important aspects regarding our conversion or regeneration:

the will conforms itself in obedience to the very word of God
the emotions are constantly being affected for the things of God
the mind is constantly being taught the truth of God's word

Examples where it can become spiritually unhealthy if a church just focuses on either one or two and not all three mentioned above

There is an intellectual interest in the doctrines of Christianity but it can be void of the emotion and passion for the things of Christ and no obedience via the will to the word of Christ Parable stated in Matthew 7:24-27
On the other hand you can have whole churches built around the emotions and having a spiritual rush every time the people get together. And the people say we don't want any of that doctrine stuff. Paul writes in Romans 10:1-2
Then you can have churches that are involved in feeding the poor, going to take care of the homeless, ministering to the shut ins, helping all those who are widows by painting the houses and mowing the lawns. In this example there is an obedience but no truth or emotion. (The social gospel which promotes salvation by works)

Romans 6 "The Conclusion"

user@domain.com — 2010-06-05T11:53:29-04:00

The unity of Scripture

user@domain.com — 2010-06-04T10:09:40-04:00

If you are new to “how to study” the Bible, please be patient. This is a skill that needs to be developed over the years but it is so exciting and rewarding! One of the purposes of this class is to help those attending to have a system that they use when doing Bible study and devotion.

The following is an article from Wayne Grudem whose book on Systematic Theology is taught today in most seminaries. He has an excellent reputation and provides much helpful insight into the study of God's word.

Keeping the “Big Picture” in Mind: Some Observations about the Whole of Scripture

Big Picture 1

The Bible is a historical document. Therefore, always ask, “What did the author want the original readers to understand by this statement?”

Big Picture 2

The original authors wanted the original readers to respond in some ways. Therefore, always ask, “What application did the original author want the readers to make to their lives?”

Coming this Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-06-04T09:24:55-04:00

The doctrine of salvation

In March we began with a study of three specific doctrines and their practical application for the Christian life. These doctrines are justification, sanctification and resurrection and they fall under a broader heading called the doctrine of salvation. Many times in the American church the word saved or salvation has more to do with a past event in a Christian's life. But as one reads through the New Testament we come to understand salvation to be a three-fold process. First, when someone talks about the manner in which they got saved, they are referring to a specific time in the past which is called justification. Second, the apostle Paul writes that we don't need just to be saved (past tense), but that we need saving (present tense) on a daily basis. This is the process called sanctification, which means the transformation that occurs in the Christian's life to make them into the likeness of Christ. Finally salvation is presented to us in the New Testament as a future tense word called glorification. Therefore it is important to remember that the doctrine of salvation includes the past, present and the future.

Romans Chapter 6

Most scholar concur that the greatest book in the Bible written for us on the doctrine of salvation is the book of Romans. When one arrives at Romans 6 the apostle Paul has dealt with how a person gets saved (past tense). And now he is specifically telling us how that practically works itself out in the life of someone who has been regenerated or born again. It helps me to think of Romans 6 as Paul's defense of grace and his explanation of regeneration. So as we are trying to keep our categories straight in regard to salvation this would fall under present salvation. I also think a great title for Romans Chapter 6 is "Be Who You Are in Christ." As you know from our study, Romans 6 divides into two sections Romans 6:1-14 and Romans 6:15-23. The apostle Paul follows the same pattern in each section. First he stresses the facts of what happened to us as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then Paul exhorts us to live in a manner consistent with who we now are in Christ.

Learning how to study

This coming Sunday we will work our way through verses 15-23 in more detail as we try to understand what it means to be a slave to righteousness. I want you to think about how we arrived at this point in Romans 6. By doing so it will help you learn a system of "how to study" when you come to a book of the Bible. If you remember we started with the overall theme of Romans then I gave you a plan for Chapters 1-6. After that was established we started to focus heavily on the context in Romans 6 that came directly from the last two verses in Chapter 5. Since then I have been concentrating on the sentences which are made up of words and grammar. As you put all that together here is what it looks like when you start to study or think through the book of Romans.

Learning (doctrine) then Living (application)

user@domain.com — 2010-06-02T13:10:14-04:00

We have taken some time to look carefully and closely at Romans Chapter 6. In thinking about the structure and flow of Romans 6 it reminds and teaches me about the ways of God. The practical application of what to do in Romans doesn’t begin until the apostle Paul teaches us what Christ has already done at the cross. As Paul writes Romans under the inspiration of the Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), we are studying the very thoughts of God. As we study the thoughts of God we then hopefully start to understand the ways of God. And even though we can only know in part, that part is still valuable in our overall Christian development.

In other words, according to the Bible the learning precedes the living when it comes to the Christian life. Some in the evangelical churches today are saying that doctrine divides, so we don’t teach it. But the Lord Jesus Himself said “if you know the truth, the truth will set you free.” It is the truth of Bible doctrine that allows a person to be free in the Christian life. For example there are Christians who think that God is holding them daily to a certain level of performance. And if they don’t jump the bar so to speak they will not meet with God’s approval. This translates into the love of God being either given or withheld based on what I do for Him. If a person lives this way they are not free in Christ but are in bondage to the law of performance. So if we continue to be ignorant of doctrines like justification and regeneration then this will result in lives that are going to be off in application. We must understand that God is not withholding His love from us due to how we perform. Since we have been reconciled in Christ, God is 100% on our side all the time no matter what happens in our life! Therefore being in Christ, we have a new heart (born again) and we are a new person, and no longer have any of our sins condemning us, because they have been absorbed by Christ at the cross.

These are the basics but they must be learned and embraced in order to live in a way, in which God is glorified, as we are most satisfied in Him. Now please don’t misunderstand my initial point or take it to an extreme. Obviously we are applying truth along the way even before we learn all these doctrines in detail. But again the principle applies and you will see this especially with the epistles of Paul, there is truth that must be learned in order that the truth can be properly lived.

Baptized with One Spirit

user@domain.com — 2010-06-02T07:35:14-04:00

This pertains to the doctrine of salvation.

Several weeks ago we looked at the word “baptism” and what the word means in the Greek. There has been much debate over the years in the church as to what it means to be baptized in the Spirit. As you will read in this short article by Warren Wiersbe he believes and so do I, that spiritual baptism happens at the time of our conversion. It is a one time event and therefore it is not necessary to for us as Christians to try and have some additional or subsequent work of the Spirit that we seek out later on in our Christian lives. Check out what Warren Wiersbe has to say about this subject.

The baptism of the Spirit occurs at conversion when the Spirit enters the believing sinner, gives him new life, and makes his body the temple of God. All believers have experienced this once-for-all baptism (1 Cor. 12:13). Nowhere does the Scripture command us to seek this baptism, because we have already experienced it and it need not be repeated.

The “filling of the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18ff) has to do with the Spiritʼs control of our lives. (In Scripture, to be filled by something means “to be controlled by.”) We are commanded to be filled, and we can be if we yield all to Christ and ask Him for the Spiritʼs filling. This is a repeated experience, for we constantly need to be filled with spiritual power if we are to glorify Christ. To be baptized by the Spirit means that we belong to Christʼs body. To be filled with the Spirit means that our bodies belong to Christ. The evidence of the Spiritʼs baptism at conversion is the witness of the Spirit within (Rom. 8:14–16). - Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (1 Co 12:1–14). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

10 Questions

user@domain.com — 2010-06-01T20:13:45-04:00

Ryan Townsend contributes some excellent questions that require prayerful consideration.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your Bible reading, study and devotion time this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

It's a matter of the heart

user@domain.com — 2010-06-01T09:04:24-04:00

May I continue to remind that the way you have a devotion time can vary greatly during the course of a year. Sometimes the Lord draws you to a word, phrase, sentence, chapter or even a book that brings about a substantial quiet time. It has been most typical for me to have devotions that come from my Bible reading but not always. I have told this story before but it made a great impression on me from a former professor Dr. Larry Dixon. He told us as a class that his devotion time for the entire year had been in John Chapter 9. I also like the advice given by George Mueller in regard to having devotions, he said "don't get up from the table until your heart is happy in Christ."

In our reading this morning I was drawn to 1 Chronicles 29:18 "O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you." This is David's great prayer of praise and supplication that will mark the end of his reign as king of Israel. As I was having my devotion time just thinking about the wording in this verse it hit me as to why so many today don't read the Bible or have consistent Bible devotions. The fruit is our devotion time with God but the root is our heart toward God. If the heart is hard then our ears become dull of hearing. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 15:8 ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

How to help children learn Bible doctrine

user@domain.com — 2010-05-31T15:02:34-04:00

One of the questions I am asked is “how are we going to teach basic Bible doctrine to our children and grand children?” Well, I have an answer and it comes from a book that was written by Dr. Bruce Ware. The name of the book is Big Truths for Young Hearts and addresses how to teach Bible doctrine to your kids. This is a key area of Bible study and one that often overlooked by many parents. We may want to give this responsibility over to our youth pastors, but it is us that need to be training our children in these spiritual truths.

When we started our class over 18 months ago I wanted this website to be a good resource for any number of different areas within the Christian life. And over that period of time I have posted audios, videos, and articles along with links to number of different websites that hopefully have provided helpful information. Let me encourage you to check out this article which is an interview Justin Taylor had with Dr. Bruce Ware regarding his book. This is a tremendous resource and one that Bruce has put together from what he did to teach Bible doctrine to his own children.

Click on this LINK.

How to best understand the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-05-31T12:16:07-04:00

From the blog site of Tullian Tchividjian

Contrary to what many Christians have concluded, the Bible DOES NOT tell two stories: the story of Israel in the OT and the story of the church in the NT. No, the Bible tells one story and points to one figure: it tells the story of how God rescues a broken world and points to Christ who accomplishes this. In the OT God revealed himself through types and shadows, through promises and prophecies. In the NT God reveals himself in Christ who is the substance of every shadow and the fulfillment of every promise and prophecy. In other words, the OT predicts God’s rescuer; the NT presents God’s rescuer. Therefore, the whole Bible–both the Old and New Testament–is all about God’s rescuer. READ MORE..

Devotion time in God's word

user@domain.com — 2010-05-31T08:02:24-04:00

Preach the gospel to yourself every day

In my devotion time this morning I reflected again on Romans 6:16-17. The way Paul writes in Romans 6:15-23 doesn't give us any wiggle room. He say plainly that every person is either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. There is no middle ground, it's like being pregnant you either are or you aren't. I once heard it's like shooting a shotgun you either shoot it or you don't. No one can sorta shoot a shot gun. And therefore a person can't sorta be a Christian.

The verses drove me back to the life that I had while still in Adam. As I thought more deeply on these two verses I remembered my slavery to money, greed, power, influence, social standing and status. These things not only controlled me but they were at the very center of my passions in life. Yesterday in church Rob Kelly gave a definition of an idol. He said an idol is anything that captures our hearts, praise and devotions that rightfully belong to God. In other words, these are the things that we are enslaved to instead of being enslaved to Christ.

So that led me to the next thought during my quiet time which was what happened to the old Bert. And the great thing about Romans 6 is that we can understand what happened to us in regeneration and also how that should play out in our daily lives. In Romans 6:16 there is a reference to the past. It says I was a slave to sin but at a certain point and time something happened in my life. The thing that happened is called regeneration in that my mind, heart and will were converted. Even though I wasn't fully aware of what happened here is what the Bible said took place in the life of Bert. I was transferred from the kingdom of darkness, where I was a slave to sin and under condemnation, judgement which was taking me straight to hell. But then God by His mercy and grace transferred in the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).

Review for May30

user@domain.com — 2010-05-30T15:31:37-04:00

SBS Class May302010

If you would like to print out the notes from this morning class simply click on this LINK.

If you would like to listen to the audio “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE” simply click on this LINK.

Coming this Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-05-29T12:24:49-04:00

This week I decided to continue teaching in Romans 6. Several comments from those in our class could be summarized as follows “don’t stop now I am starting to understand what Paul is teaching us about practical Christian living.” So with that feedback and especially in light of our Q and A sessions this month we will finish up, Lord willing, chapter 6 over the next few weeks.

The main thrust tomorrow will be a quick review of everything we have covered so far and then Romans 6:15-17.

There are 4 things to note regarding these verses:
1. There are only 2 masters, either sin or righteousness

2. These two masters are diametrically opposite of one another, difference between light and darkness, life and death, God and Satan, heaven and hell, everything that is good and pure and all that is evil and destructive

3. Because they are opposites then you can't serve both of them at once

4. Every single person is either a slave of one or the other, there is no such thing as being totally free because you are either free to sin or free to obey God

Hope to see you tomorrow as we learn and live the God-centered life

How to understand what the Bible means

user@domain.com — 2010-05-28T11:04:49-04:00

Last week was the conclusion of Romans 6:1-14. But it was not the conclusion of Romans 6. This week I am planning to continue the teaching in Romans 6:15-23 which is the "doctrine of salvation."

Hopefully by the time we have come through Romans 6 you will have picked up some of the key principles in Biblical Hermeneutics. As you have heard me say on more than one occasion hermeneutics is a system or a method of study to determine what the author meant by what he wrote. If you recall in coming to Romans 6, I mentioned both the theme of Romans "justification by faith" and the plan for Romans from Chapters 1-8. Listed below is a quick review of the plan:
Romans 1-3:18 All men are under sin
Romans 3:18-4 Justification by faith
Chapter 5:1-8 The certainty and the fullness of salvation in Christ Jesus

In addition to Bible theme and Bible plan we have looked at context, words, grammar as we have made our way through Romans 6.

For example the context of Romans 6 is recognizing what happened to us at the time of our regeneration and then Paul exhorting us to live consistent with that reality. In Bible study we call this immediate context because this is very specific to Romans 6. But there is also a "remote" context that must be considered. And that is the same kind of language that Paul uses to express this Biblical truth in other epistles such as Ephesians and Colossians. It becomes known as remote context because it is not found within the book of Romans but is remote to it in other places in the Bible.

Dr. Bruce Ware welcomes invitation to be retreat speaker

user@domain.com — 2010-05-26T08:47:05-04:00

I am thrilled to announce that we have secured Dr. Bruce Ware to be our retreat speaker in 2011. It is no secret that Bruce is one of my favorite living theologians and his teachings on the doctrine of God have been invaluable to the 21st century church. Nancy and I feel blessed to call Bruce and Jodi friends and I can tell you this, you are in for a real treat. In the coming months the leadership team will meet and start to work out the details as to time and place. Also I will be providing more information about Bruce, his family, background, and hobbies. I think you will enjoy getting to know him from a distance before you meet him at the retreat.

Here is a short bio.

Educational Background:
A.S. Judson Baptist College, 1973
Certif. Capernwray Bible School, 1974
B.A. Whitworth College, 1975
M.Div. Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1978
Th.M. Western Conservative Baptist Semianry, 1980
M.A. University of Washington, 1981
Ph.D. Fuller Theological Seminary, 1984

So what is the Emergent church anyway?

user@domain.com — 2010-05-25T22:26:50-04:00

Here are some of my study notes from a D.A. Carson lecture on the subject of the Emergent Church.

The Emergent Church is a movement that is only about a decade old.

This particular movement was sparked by frustration and protest but this is more in a personal sort of way. Many of those involved write about themselves, they typically come out of conservative churches and are pushing back against those sorts of messages and methodologies.

The frustration the emergent church deals with in regard to traditional churches
- a lack of genuine relationships
- a rigid approach to life
- a strong adherence to truth and rules
- a legalistic environment

And the break out of the movement has taken the pendulum far to the other side of the scale.

In particular they are protesting against two things:
1. A reaction or push back against modernist churches or churches with a strong emphasis on certain values or creeds
2. It is a protest against the mega-church, the first being traditional and modernist. And the second being those who are just pragmatic.

They want to offer a third option.

The profile for a typical traditional according to emergents would include:
organs
pews
pulpit
religious symbols
lots of theology

The pragmatic evangelicals which they would consider to be
Willow Creek - Bill Hybels
Saddleback Church - Rick Warren

And would be characterized by the following items

highly polished
theatre atmosphere
very seeker sensitive

Studying the "one anothers" in the New Testament

user@domain.com — 2010-05-23T19:17:35-04:00

There are lots of one another’s in the Bible. I mentioned that this morning, as we discussed not letting sin reign in the life of the believer. How are we going to help and minister to others, if we aren’t able to know them to the point we can know where sin might reign in their lives. This is part of true discipleship when people are committed to the one another of Scripture. Therefore I thought you might want to see the list of one another’s listed in the 21 epistles which covers Romans-Jude.

Do you think the one another’s of the New Testament were important to the authors?

Review for May 23

user@domain.com — 2010-05-23T18:24:17-04:00

Sbs class may232010

View more presentations from BertBrim

If you would like to hear the audio clip by Dr. John Piper - “Make war on sin” then click on this LINK.

If you would like to print out these notes then click on this LINK

Purpose of our class

This Sunday "the Conclusion"

user@domain.com — 2010-05-22T07:37:12-04:00

This Sunday will mark the conclusion of this Bible doctrine series on “Practical Christian Living.” We have been digging into Romans 6 to understand how we as Christians are to live out the doctrines of justification, regeneration and resurrection. Hopefully this has been very encouraging to you in the learning and living of your God-centered life.

Gentle and Humble

user@domain.com — 2010-05-21T19:12:51-04:00

There are two adjectives in the New Testament that Jesus used to describe Himself. We find this in Matt. 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

QUESTION FOR APPLICATION
If someone could describe you with only two adjectives which two would they use? Take a closer look at what the Bible has to say about humility and gentleness.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-05-20T11:59:45-04:00

“… the secret of the gospel is that we actually do more when we hear less about all we need to do for God and hear more about all that God has already done for us.” - Kevin DeYoung

Two preachers with two different messages

user@domain.com — 2010-05-20T08:25:43-04:00

from the Sacred Sandwich blog site

Devotion time in Proverbs 21:1

user@domain.com — 2010-05-20T07:32:31-04:00

In our Bible reading plan this morning the assignment is Proverbs 20-21. After reading I took some time to reflect on the implications of Proverbs 21:1. I suggest that as you come to have devotion time or study time with chapters, sentences, verses or words that you get several Bible translations. It often times will help to secure the meaning because the different translations are attempting to put into English the original language whether it be Hebrew of Greek. Proverbs 21:1 deals directly with the attribute ofrGod’s sovereignty.

Proverbs 21:1 (NIV) - The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

Proverbs 21:1 (NASB) - The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD;
He turns it wherever He wishes.

Proverbs 21:1 (NLT) - The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord;
he guides it wherever he pleases.

Proverbs 21:1 (ESV) - The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.

So let’s start connecting the dots in the Bible regarding the "sovereignty of God"

Look at Ephesians 1:11 "...who works all things according to the counsel of his will" The phrase "all things" is literal and means everything.

What are the "all things" that God is sovereign over according to the Bible?

The fall of a sparrow - Matthew 10:29 - Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-05-19T12:06:44-04:00

“When I look into my heart and take a view of its wickedness, it looks like an abyss infinitely deeper than Hell. And it appears to me that, were it not for free grace, exalted and raised up to the infinite height of all the fullness of the great Jehovah, and the arm of His grace stretched forth in all the majesty of His power and in all the glory of His sovereignty, I should appear sunk down in my sins below Hell itself. It is affecting to think how ignorant I was when a young Christian, of the bottomless depths of wickedness, pride, hypocrisy, and filth left in my heart.” —Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758)

Launch into the summer

user@domain.com — 2010-05-19T11:18:23-04:00

We met last night for Q and A session #3 at the home of Allen and Bonnie Cleveland. I want to say thanks to them for hosting and also to publicly thank the Duckett's and Rhino's for our first two sessions. Next week we are meeting at our home and plan to invite the entire class as we launch into the summer. Nancy is planning to have a "discussion and dessert" time whereas I want to call it "blowout at the Brimbos." I have several things that I would like to cover that should provide some very interesting dialogue for those who attend. Last night at the Q and A I mentioned the biggest evangelical story to hit the church within the past 100 years. Well, I am going to unveil that next week it full detail. Do you know what it is? Do you know how it is impacting the church today and in the future?

For the past two summers I have spent time praying and planning for the upcoming year. In the mega-church in Charlotte there are two main launches, one is in the fall and the other is the beginning of the new year. It has been my habit to start in June and basically as best I can, build a curriculum for the next year of teaching. The first year of our class the main area of concentration was on the word of God and in our second year our main focus has been on the doctrine of God. One of the sub-goals in the first two years has been to teach on the doctrine of salvation prior to and after Easter Sunday. As a class we have studied the doctrines of justification, regeneration, propitiation, atonement, redemption and resurrection. This year through prayer and discussion I decided to teach on a practical application of the doctrines of justification, regeneration and resurrection from Romans 6:1-14. This Sunday I will conclude our "Practical Christian Living" as we finish up the imperatives that Paul gives in Romans 6:11-14. Can you imagine if you had been in the congregation of Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones and spent a solid year in Romans 6? Of course this will be my defense for those who may think 6 weeks in one chapter is too long.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-05-18T07:29:09-04:00

“Only the gospel can truly save you. The gospel doesn’t make bad people good; it makes dead people alive...the gospel is God’s acceptance of us based on what Christ has done, not on what we can do.” – Tchividjian, Tullian., Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels (p.56)

Devotion time in 1 Chronicles 17

user@domain.com — 2010-05-18T05:56:37-04:00

We are in week #35 of our Bible reading plan. As you read become familiar with chapter titles that are given in the study Bible and also cross references. One of my first Bibles when I started to study contained no headings and no notes. Part of my training was to read chapters and paragraphs in order to title them as to the main thought. If you will notice today in 1 Chronicles 17 the title of this chapter is God's covenant with David. When you have devotions or are involved in Bible study learn to ask good questions. For example as you read 1 Chronicles 17 here are some questions that need to be answered:
1. Why is this titled covenant with David when the word covenant does not appear?
2. What is a covenant?
3. What other covenants can we find in the Bible?
4. Are there more than one type of covenant?
5. Does this point us to Christ and if so how?

Covenants in general
A covenant is a divinely sanctioned commitment

Divinely sanctioned doesn't mean divinely approved but it means that the covenant has sanctions in it which normally includes blessings and curses
Turn to Deuteronomy 27-28 along with Leviticus 26.
Notice in these sections of Scripture you have both blessings and curses.
This is an example in the Bible of a covenant or an oath and it has these sanctions attached that if you obey there will be blessing but if you disobey there will be a curse
A key for us to understand is that every covenant in the Bible does not operate under the same principle.
Though all covenants have blessings and curses not all covenant relationships are conditioned on the human partner.

Review for May 16

user@domain.com — 2010-05-17T09:26:11-04:00

Yesterday we started into the 4 imperatives in Romans 6:11-13. There is a lot here to cover and it looks as though we need to continue this discussion in next week’s class. If you would like to review and print out the notes from yesterday’s class then simply click on this LINK.

Should you want to hear the audio regarding indicatives and imperatives then click on this LINK.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-05-17T06:43:56-04:00

Kill sin or it will kill you

user@domain.com — 2010-05-17T05:26:08-04:00

Yesterday we studied the first two imperatives in Romans 6:11-13. We as Christians need to understand the battlefield and it is against our own sinful nature. Be patient as we teach through this section of Romans but this is a very important category for us to understand.

John Owen one of the great Puritan theologians said "be killing your sin or it will be killing you." There is more to teach on this but for now I have an audio clip for you on this subject. Allow Dr. John Piper to encourage you to make war on your sin. Simply click on this LINK.

Warning to all pastors and teachers

user@domain.com — 2010-05-15T07:28:36-04:00

From day one in our class we have been talking about the importance of knowing God's word in order that we may know God.
In yesterday's Bible reading plan I was particularly drawn to Hosea Chapter 4. In verse 1 we can plainly see that the problem is the people have no knowledge of God and for this reason in verse 6 it says they are destroyed because of that fact. Here is the question for consideration "How are we going to know God if we don't know the very word of God?"

Hosea 4:1
Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel,
For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness or kindness
Or knowledge of God in the land.

Hosea 4:6
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

Notice two important points from Hosea Chapter 4:
1. What happens to the people?
2. Who is God is holding responsible for the lack of knowledge?

The gospel-centered life

user@domain.com — 2010-05-15T05:43:33-04:00

Ray Ortlund writes:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3
The gospel announces that God is not what we think. God has no swagger, no pride, no bluff, no defensive face-saving, no pushing to the head of the line — what this whole world is made of. God is humble. He does nothing from rivalry, though we picked a fight with him, nor conceit, though we puffed ourselves up against him. God made himself nothing, took the form of a servant, humbled himself in obedience all the way to death on the cross. For us. That gospel doctrine in the Bible creates a gospel culture in a church.

Gospel doctrine – gospel culture = hypocrisy.
Gospel culture – gospel doctrine = fragility.
Gospel doctrine + gospel culture = power.

In one of the most beautiful passages I know of outside the Bible, Jonathan Edwards distinguishes gospel culture from non-gospel culture:

“Spiritual pride is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of Christianity. It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit, to darken the mind and mislead the judgment. It is the main source of all the mischief the devil introduces, to clog and hinder a work of God.

Spiritual pride tends to speak of other persons’ sins with bitterness or with laughter and levity and an air of contempt. But pure Christian humility rather tends either to be silent about these problems or to speak of them with grief and pity. Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others, but a humble Christian is most guarded about himself. He is as suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The proud person is apt to find fault with other believers, that they are low in grace, and to be much in observing how cold and dead they are and to be quick to note their deficiencies. But the humble Christian has so much to do at home and sees so much evil in his own heart and is so concerned about it that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts. He is apt to esteem others better than himself.”

Jonathan Edwards, Works (Edinburgh, 1979), I:398-400. Style updated.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-05-15T05:24:34-04:00

This is from the blog site of Tullian Tchividjian

Richard Lints’ landmark book of seventeen years ago The Fabric of Theology. He writes:

Theology ought to possess a pride of place in evangelicalism, but, like serious biblical study, it has on the whole been relegated to the backwaters of a few theological seminaries. The study of God is increasingly being replaced by a fascination with the self. Like their archenemy Rudolph Bultmann, evangelicals have begun to embrace “relevance” as a fundamental criterion of truth.

Coming this Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-05-14T07:46:30-04:00

This Sunday, Lord willing, the plan is to cover the 4 imperatives in Romans 6:11-13. Here is my overall summary of these verses that are so critical and practical for the Christian life.

In Romans 6:11 the apostle Paul is appealing to us through our logic and reason to realize who we are in Christ. And in Romans 6:12-13 he exhorts us to “BE WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST.” If you like movies then I have a clip from Robin Hood to be released on May 14. Watch and listen carefully to this video clip. Click on this LINK.

Bible Doctrine

user@domain.com — 2010-05-14T06:27:48-04:00

On Tuesday night we had our Q and A session #2 at Danny and Rhonda’s home. One of the questions that I have been asked about are resources for Bible study. As most of you know this class is primarily dedicated to the learning of Bible doctrine. Doctrine simply means what the whole Bible has to say about any particular subject or topic. The design of this curriculum is to study:
The doctrine of God’s word
The doctrine of God Himself
The doctrine of Christ
The doctrine of the Spirit
The doctrine of man
The doctrine of salvation

Since March we have been looking at three specific doctrines that come under the doctrine of salvation. They are justification, regeneration and resurrection. After looking at these doctrines it has been my goal during the last 5 weeks to teach the practical application that come from these doctrines, as we can see in the first 14 verses of Romans 6.

What did Jesus mean when He said...

user@domain.com — 2010-05-13T08:03:00-04:00

In my devotion time this morning I was thinking about the wealth and affluence in southeast Charlotte. Even though these are hard times economically for many people if you compare southeast Charlotte to the rest of the world there is no doubt that we are rich. And even those who would not think they are rich compared to the ultra wealthy are very rich compared to those in third world countries.

Do you remember the encounter that Jesus had with the rich young ruler? After the conversation is over Jesus turns to His disciples and says in Matthew 19:23 “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. If you were to ask Jesus to define the word "hard" in that sentence He does so with His very next statement. Matthew 19:24 “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” This verse is not talking about the eye of a needle being some archway that a camel would have to kneel down in order to go under. It is not talking about the word camel as a rope that one tries to push through a needle. Jesus is making a very important point and He is using a word picture to do so. Can a real camel, yes the animal with a hump on his back to through the eye of a sewing needle? The answer to that question is no, that would be impossible. And that is exactly what the disciples understood because in their follow up question they asked the following in context with what had just happened with the rich young ruler "then who can be saved?"

How are you motivated?

user@domain.com — 2010-05-11T12:57:27-04:00

This is a recommended article by Justin Taylor from Kevin DeYoung’s blog site. I imagine there are plenty of Christians who rarely feel the sting of conscience or the pangs of regret. But I also know many, many Christians (including the one I see in the mirror) who easily feel bad for all the things they are not doing or are doing less than perfectly. In fact, I’m convinced most serious Christians live their lives with an almost constant low-level sense of guilt.

How do we feel guilty? Let me count the ways.

We could pray more.
We aren’t bold enough in evangelism.
We like sports too much.
We watch movies and television too often.
Our quiet times are too short or too sporadic.
We don’t give enough.
We bought a new couch.
We don’t read to our kids enough.
Our kids eat Cheetos and french fries.
We don’t recycle enough.
We need to lost 20 pounds.
We could use our time better.
We could live some place harder or in something smaller.
What do we do with all this behind the scenes guilt? We don’t feel stop-dead-in-our-tracks kind of remorse for these things. But these shortcomings can have a cumulative effect whereby even the mature Christian can feel like he’s rather disappointing to God, maybe just barely Christian.

The Christian Life

user@domain.com — 2010-05-11T06:11:25-04:00

If you are not only attending our community on Sunday but studying with us then here is where we are. In the last 4 weeks we have covered for the most part the flow of thought from the apostle Paul in Romans 6:1-10. Last week the goal was to take the word “baptism” and study it in order to better understand its meaning. Again we are trying to interpret the text based on what the author meant by what he wrote. Everyone has a different learning style but I know many that like to review by answering questions.

So my challenge for you is to answer the following questions from Romans 6:1-10.

Question #1 - How do we arrive at Romans 6? (give a brief review for Romans 1-5)

Question #2 - What observations can we make about “how” Paul writes Romans?

Question #3 - How should Romans 6 be titled and outlined?

Question #4 - Why is it necessary for Paul to write Romans 6?

Question #5 - What are the key phrases or words in Romans 6?

Question #6 - What does “died to sin” mean for the Christian?

Question #7 - What word picture does Paul use to illustrate “died to sin?”

Question #8 - How does Romans 6:10 summarize section one?

Question #9 - How would you explain the word baptize in Romans 6:3?

You might be neo-orthodox if...

user@domain.com — 2010-05-10T08:54:37-04:00

Remember our definition for Neo-Orthodox: those today in the church that believe the Bible becomes the word of God. In other words meaning is found in your personal experiences and based on what it means to you. So with the help of "Why we're not Emergent (by two guys who should be), Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck here is how you can identify this type of church person. (I did make a few minor changes).

You listen to U2, Moby and Johnny Cash's Hurt (sometimes in church), use sermon illustrations from The Sopranos, drink lattes in the afternoon and Guinnes in the evenings;

If your reading list consists primarily of Stanley Hauerwas, Henri Nouwen, N.T. Wright, Stan Grenz, Brennan Manning, Jim Wallis, Frederick Buechner, David Bosch, John Howard Yoder, Wendell Berry, Nancy Murphy, John Franke, Walter Winks and Lesslie Newbigin (not to mention McLaren, Pagitt, Bell, etc.) and your sparring partners include D.A. Carson, Jonathan Edwards, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Wayne Grudem; if your idea of quintessential Christian discipleship is Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Neslon Mandela, or Desmond Tutu;

if you don't like George W. Bush or institutions or big buisness or captalism or Left Behind Christianity;

if your political concerns are poverty, AIDS, imperialism, war-monerging, CEO salaries, consumerism, glorbal warming, racism, and oppression and not so much abortion and gay marriage;

if you are into bohemian, goth, rave, or indie; if you talk about the myth of redemptive violence and the myth of certainty;

if you lie awake at night having nightmares about all the ways modernism has ruined you life;

Question and Answer Session

user@domain.com — 2010-05-09T21:02:34-04:00

We have a question and answer session coming up on Tuesday night at 7 PM at Danny and Rhonda’s home.

A couple of years ago Nancy and I went to the Cove in Asheville, NC for a weekend with Dr. John MacArthur. Of course I had my camera always at the ready and took plenty of pictures that weekend. At the end of one of Dr. MacArthur’s teaching sessions he took questions. I had no idea but Nancy all of a sudden raised her hand and they handed her the microphone. The only thing I could think was hurry up and get this on tape. Here is the question that Nancy asked.

As a side note I posted on my youtube account which is very unknown and private. This video has been viewed almost 10,000 times. Just click on this LINK.

Review for May 9

user@domain.com — 2010-05-09T17:56:21-04:00

I started our lesson today with an explanation of Biblical hermeneutics. We live at an interesting time in human history especially as it relates to the church in America. The question that our post modern generation ask when they come to the Bible is “what does the Bible mean to me?” However the orthodox question throughout the 2000 years of church history has been “what does the Bible mean based on what the author intended when he wrote it?” I hope you see the huge difference between these two questions. The first question is man-centered and the second question is God-centered.
Biblical hermeneutics is a system or a way to interpret Scripture in order to understand what the author meant by what he wrote. There are three principles that can summarize this approach.
1. A historical-grammatical approach to the Bible
2. Scripture interprets Scripture
3. The New Testament is the guiding hermeneutic for us to understand the Old Testament

Early on in my Bible training I learned that we have to stand in the language community we are studying. This is not an easy task but it becomes essential if we are going to be diligent and thorough in our study. We also need to be able to handle context, words, grammar and then make sure that our interpretation is consistent with the unity of Scripture.

We as a class have been learning what practical Christian living looks like from the apostle Paul in Romans 6. Years ago Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones taught through the book of Romans. Lloyd-Jones who retired from his ministry at Westminster Chapel in 1968, following a major operation. He spoke of a belief that God had stopped him from continuing to preach through the New Testament book of the Letter to the Romans in his Friday evening Bible study exposition because he did not personally know enough about "joy in the Holy Spirit" which was to be his next sermon (based on Romans 14:17).

From what I understand it took Dr. Jones fourteen years to cover fourteen chapters.

God-centered Living

user@domain.com — 2010-05-08T10:59:35-04:00

This is from Dr. Michael Horton’s book “The gospel driven life.”

It is interesting that the biblical writers chose the word “gospel.” The heart of most religions is good advice, good techniques, good programs, good ideas, and good support systems. These drive us deeper into ourselves, to find our inner light, inner goodness, inner voice, or inner resources. Nothing new can be found inside of us. There is no inner rescuer deep down in my soul; I just hear echoes of my own voice telling me all sorts of crazy things to numb my sense of fear, anxiety, and boredom, the origins of which I cannot truly identify. But the heart of Christianity is Good News. It comes not as a task for us to fulfill, a mission for us to accomplish, a game plan for us to follow with the help of life coaches, but as a report that someone else has already fulfilled, accomplished, followed and achieved everything for us. Good advice may help us in daily direction; the Good News concerning Jesus Christ saves us from sin’s guilt and tyranny over our lives and the fear of death. It is Good News because it does not depend on us. It is about God and His faithfulness to His own purposes and promises.

Coming this Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-05-07T13:56:04-04:00

The study of Bible Doctrine is both challenging and exciting. It is challenging because in teaching we strive to understand what the author meant when he wrote the particular text. It is exciting because once the Spirit clearly reveals to word of God to the heart it becomes transformational. There are many ways to approach Bible study. I learned in my early years that the first thing one needs is a system to study the Bible. The word for this kind of study is called “Hermeneutics.” When I was introduced to the word my question was “why use the word hermeneutics?” And my Bible teacher was quick to respond because it is in the Bible.

This class provides the opportunity to learn Biblical hermeneutics. The initial teaching that I have emphasized in the first 18 months of our class is the whole view of Scripture. This is best done by looking at Bible doctrine and Biblical theology. Bible doctrine is concerned with what the Bible has to say about a specific subject or topic. In our class we are studying what the Bible has to say about; the word of God, God Himself, Christ, the Holy Spirit, man and finally salvation. At the same time in other venues such as retreat formats and men’s Bible study we are looking at the unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind by God from Genesis to Revelation. These things are not learned overnight but take time for us to study and then digest. After we get past unity of Scripture the next objective will be to look at “how to study” individual books of the Bible. Again when I was in my beginning years of a study the system I learned the following:
1. Author Background
2. Theme of the book
3. Plan of the book

Is sin in Romans 6 equal to the sinful nature?

user@domain.com — 2010-05-07T09:29:25-04:00

This morning I am looking closely at the word sin (harmartia) in the Greek as it occurs in Romans and in Paul's other epistles. Have you ever heard about or used the phrase "sinful nature?" I think this is a very helpful phrase to provide for us clear understanding as to what Paul means when he says we died to sin (Romans 6:2). But upon further investigation the phrase sinful nature never occurs in any of the word for word translations such as the ESV, NASB, or NKJV. However the NIV and the NLT, which I consider both to be excellent translations, use the phrase "sinful nature." And the question that comes to mind is as we study Romans 6:1-14, would it be fair to equate "the sin" which occurs 9 times in 14 verses to "the sinful nature."

I want us to understand that "the sin" or "the sinful" nature Paul refers to is a noun, which by definition of a noun is either a person, place or thing. This thing called the sinful nature is what causes the sins to be manifested in our lives. The sinful nature being the root and the sins (verb) then become the fruit. Let me give you a word picture that is not perfect but I think can illustrate the difference. If you have ever done anything in the garden or the yard regarding a weed you can better understand the difference between "the sin" and sins. If you pull the head off of the weed all the way to the surface of the ground even though the weed is gone in a few days it comes back. We all know that in order to get rid of a weed the right way is to pull it up by the roots. In our Christian lives we need to continue to kill or put to death the sinful nature. Even though we are dead to sin in terms of its realm and power, which is very remarkable, it is not yet dead to us. Jesus died for sins meaning He has paid the price for the penalty of our sins past, present and future. But also Jesus has died to sin which means the very power of sin has been broken due to His death and resurrection. But the presence of sin or you could say the sinful nature remains in every Christian.

So as I continue in our study of Romans 6 I will be referring to "the sin" as the sinful nature. It is from the sinful nature that the very acts of sins take place in our lives. Too often we are trying to manage the sins (verb) instead of putting to death the sinful nature (noun). When you arrive at Romans 6:12 which is the second imperative or command Paul writes the following; "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts." The question is asked what does the word "its" refer to in this sentence. Does it refer to sin or mortal body? I will not go into the technical reason, but according the Greek rendering it refers to the mortal body. We can't see the sinful nature but we certainly can see the things that come from the sinful nature. So Paul is dealing with the root (sinful nature) by telling us not to obey lusts that try to express themselves through the members of our body like eyes, hands, feet, tongue and so on. The fullness in the Christian life happens when we learn how to work on the right end of the problem. In this case we need to be killing the sinful nature instead of trying to manage the sins that result from this nature.

The teaching plan for May

user@domain.com — 2010-05-05T13:02:19-04:00

In March I started a Bible doctrine series which I titled “March to the Cross.” The goal was to take three specific doctrines to study as we looked forward to our Easter Sunday celebration. It was after that Easter Sunday that I decided through prayer and discussion with others to consider in a more thorough way the application for these doctrines in the life of a Christian. The new title under which we are now studying is called “Practical Christian Living.” And we are studying the first 14 verses of Romans Chapter 6 which is titled “A new person in Christ.” In the past 3 weeks my goal as been to establish a strong overview in Romans 6:1-14. Then to make us aware of some of the key words and phrases, and finally to understand what it means for us as Christian to be dead to sin. In the next 3 weeks I have 3 specific areas of study in these verses that I want to help us to get a handle on.
1. The four imperatives that show up in Romans 6:11-13
2. The category distinction between the old man that was crucified and the deeds of the body that have been rendered powerless
3. The word “baptism” as it was used by the early Greek writers and what it means as to our spiritual life.

The more I pray and think about it I will finish this coming Sunday with the four imperatives. For those of you who have been quietly chanting “give me application, give me application then this is your week. However just so you know a little secret there was application in weeks 1, 2 and 3. Therefore if you are following along with me via this blog site I want you to read Romans 6:11-13. Pick out the 4 imperative verbs, again the imperative mood is the mood of command. So go to BlueletterBible.org and pick out the imperative verbs. And then follow the logic flow of thought that Paul gives us in the first 10 verses in order to complete the loop, of how to be the Christian that you say you’ve become.

In the following two weeks I will go into some specific details of how to study words and grammar when you come to the Bible. Now that you have seen the big picture outline of Romans 6:1-14t, now you are ready to uncover the diamonds hidden within the sentences, phrases and words. Romans 6 is one of the most encouraging and practical books in all the Bible. It is amazing to watch how the apostle Paul moves from justification in Chapter 5 to an explanation of regeneration in Chapter 6. If you think about it Romans 6 is describing in detail what the life of a person who has been regenerated, by the Spirit looks like day to day. After we conclude this particular series in May then it will be back to the doctrine of God and I plan to pick up where we left off which was on the immutability of God.

Word Study for REPENT

user@domain.com — 2010-05-05T11:21:18-04:00

Sometimes a devotion may consist in meditating on a single word for a particular period of time. This morning from our discussion last night about "hardening of the heart" I studied and devoted on the word repent. Can you remember the last time you repented over your sin? It seems in our Christian culture today words like "repent" have made their way to the back of the bus so to speak. It is no longer in vogue to discuss such things that might offend. Somebody today might ask you "repent from what?" As Alan Redpath once said the biggest problem in the American church is that it cannot agree on a definition for sin. Last night we talked about the problem with a heart that is hard before the Lord. It might surprise us to know how little "repenting" is done and yet how important this is for the Christian life. When the Lord Jesus uses the words "REPENT and BELIEVE" in Mark 1:15 they are verbs which are in the present tense and the imperative mood. This means an action that we must have as a continuous way of life, a daily habit and this is NOT what He is asking but rather commanding us to do!

We need to stick close to the language of the Bible especially when it comes to preaching and teaching the gospel. Please remember the gospel is something that we as believers need to be preaching to ourselves daily. As Paul teaches us "for in it (the gospel) is the power unto salvation (justification, sanctification and glorification) for all who believe (present tense which means as a daily habit or process). I think the most appropriate language that is consistent with Scripture and that provides the most clarity are the words "REPENT and BELIEVE."

In this note I have provided for you a definition of the word repent. The word repent when used in the New Testament is a verb and the word repentance is a noun. Notice how many times this type of language is used in both the Old and New Testament. I have included a brief outline of repentance and the verses associated with this outline from study notes from Day, C. A. (2009). Collins Thesaurus of the Bible. Again Bible doctrine is what does the Bible have to say about a particular subject or topic. This is not an exhaustive study but gives you some idea what the Bible has to say regarding the doctrine of repentance. It may be helpful for all of us to review these Scriptures on a more regular basis in order to keep the necessity for repenting at the forefront of our minds.

A hardened heart

user@domain.com — 2010-05-04T21:19:29-04:00

The theme for our first Q and A session was discussion about the hardness of our hearts. The reason our hearts are hard before God is because of our sin. When is the last time you wept and repented over your sin? The greatest single hindrance that we have in our Bible reading, Bible study and Bible devotion is sin that is tolerated and unconfessed. This is maybe the most critical problem that I see in the American church as it relates to keeping the main thing the main thing. That is the main thing of knowing God by the knowing His word which often times gets pushed aside by our hectic schedule and activities. Whenever we have things in our life that we value more than Christ then that is sin. Therefore as community we need to be reminded as to how easily our hearts can become hardened in our Christian walk. Learning and Living community Christ did not come to help you balance your checkbook, give you a better marriage or to be sure that your children don’t rebel. Jesus Christ came to save you from the wrath of God because of your sin and credit His righteousness to your account!

Here is the following texts that we discussed specifically or I would suggest for further study as it relates to the hardness of the heart;

Mark 8:14-17
Isaiah 6:8-10
Matthew 13:14-15
John 3:3-5
Amos 8:12
Luke 24:25
Hebrews 3:7-13
Matthew 7:24-27
Ezekiel 36:26-27

Quote of the day

user@domain.com — 2010-05-03T17:53:25-04:00

This quote comes from a new book by Tullian Tchividjian called “Surprised by Grace.”

“Real change does not come and cannot come independently of the gospel, which is the good news that even though we’re more defective and lost than we every imagined, we can be more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope, because Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again for sinners like you and me.”

Question and Answer Sessions

user@domain.com — 2010-05-02T19:12:14-04:00

We have decided to meet during the month of May to dialogue over questions that those in our community have regarding the Bible. I have talked with a number of people in the class who have suggested we make this kind of format available. One of the recommendations I would ask is that we try to stay within the study of our last 18 months. If you just review the website I think you will see how much to date that has been covered. This is not a hard and fast rule but one that I believe will give us the best return on the time we invest together for the month of May.

This will be a time where we can get up close and person with one another, open our Bibles and wrestle through what’s on your mind. The first meeting will be at the home of Jim and Patti Duckworth. For directions to their home simply click on this LINK.

Review for May 2

user@domain.com — 2010-05-02T16:13:54-04:00

Can you answer the following questions now about Romans 6:1-14 without your notes. This is the learning part of the first 10 verses that will lead to the living part which we will cover in two weeks.

1. Give the title for verses 1-14
2. What is the pattern of 5 statements that describe the outline?
3. Give a definition for “died to sin” and back up with Scripture.
4. What is the word picture that the apostle Paul for “died to sin?”
5. What is the difference between an indicative verb and an imperative verb?
6. How would you describe in brief the chapters leading up to Romans 6?
7. Why did Paul write Romans Chapter 6? (Hint: It comes from understanding Romans 5:21)
8. What is a key word or phrase in Romans 6?
9. Give two points that summarize verses 1-10?

I mentioned this morning that there were 40 slides to go over and I set a world’s record for me and made it through 29. I want to challenge those in our class to review these notes in detail. Next week I plan to cover the word “baptism” but the following week we are going to talk about “deeds of the body.” There is a critical distinction that we need to make between the old man that was crucified with Christ and the deeds of the body that I am going to refer to as the sinful nature. The old man has been crucified and never to live again but the sinful nature remains. OK, so we have the May 9 and May 16 classes that you can know what is going to be the primary goal. This means I will not be reviewing anymore in verses 1-10 in Romans 6. However I cannot stress too much that you understand the outline in Romans 6:1-14, and that you know what Paul means when he says a Christian has died to sin. These notes will contain not only all that we covered this morning but additional notes that will be covered during the May 16 class.

Preview for this Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-05-01T08:51:55-04:00

On Sunday, Lord willing, the plan is to continue into part 3 of "Practical Christian Living." This stems from our study in the doctrines of justification, regeneration and resurrection, with the goal being to marry the doctrinal with the applicational. Initially I was only going to stop after the doctrine of the resurrection but as I prayed and thought about it things changed. Therefore I have put our study regarding the doctrine of God on hold until we complete this very practical section of Christian living in Romans 6. Specifically the study in Romans 6 will reappear when we study the doctrine of salvation. But I think our going into Romans 6 at this time will provide some good doctrinal groundwork as we move forward. Keep in mind we are still in the study of doctrine which right now relates to our salvation that includes justification, regeneration, sanctification and glorification.

In week #1 of "Practical Christian Living" we looked at the context of Romans Chapters 1-5 that brought us into Chapter 6. Also I provided an outline for Romans 6 with a brief explanation of how we might study this chapter. In week #2, which was last week, I had us think about the phrase "died to sin." When Paul wrote Romans 6 we have a mention of died, death and die in each verse starting in Romans 6:2 and going through Romans 6:11. The challenge is to understand what does Paul mean when he says we have "died to sin" and yet as Christians we are still impacted, tempted and hassled by sin. As you have been hearing me say for the last 18 months we need to have proper categories doctrinally when we study the Bible. The category "died to sin" is critical as we move forward because it impacts so much of our being able to understand how Paul writes and what he is trying to teach us in Romans.

Devotion time in Daniel 4

user@domain.com — 2010-04-30T05:27:27-04:00

In our study of Bible doctrine and more specifically the doctrine of God we will cover the sovereignty of God. Our Friday Bible reading is Daniel 1-6 but I am drawn this morning to Daniel 4. This may be the clearest teaching in the Bible regarding the sovereignty of God. Let's look at the verses and then come to a definition of sovereignty.

Daniel 4:28-35 (NIV)
28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"
31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes."

33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: "What have you done?"

The definition of sovereignty: God plans and carries out His perfect will as He alone knows is best, overall that is in heaven and earth, and He does so without failure or defeat.

What is going on with American Christianity?

user@domain.com — 2010-04-29T18:21:26-04:00

Teachers of the Bible in church have two important responsibilities; one is to guard people from false doctrine and the second is to teach what the text means from the standpoint of what the author meant when he wrote it. My old Bible teacher used the example of a glass that was filled with 100% pure drinking water. And then he says I am only going to put 1% arsenic into the glass will you drink it? He then makes the point that the 1% won't kill you immediately but after drinking it over a period of time will bring certain death. The illustration is for those in the church today that have abandoned the truth of the Bible. A solid reading of Romans Chapter 1 should convince us that God will give people over to what they really desire. And now what America has reaped in the wind she is reaping in the whirl wind, yes even within the "professing" church.

I have included as the main subject for this email a recent article from USA Today's religion and faith section. Click on this LINK. The article deals primarily with the 18-29 year old demographic but please don't limit your thinking of this problem to just this group it goes to the generation before and the one that is to come after. May I strongly encourage to process it in light of what the apostle Paul told young Timothy to watch out for at the end of the age.

2 Timothy 3:1-4 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Something to think about...

user@domain.com — 2010-04-28T08:20:24-04:00

From Acidri’s Blog

“If we do not preach about sin and God’s judgment on it, we cannot present Christ as Saviour from sin and the wrath of God. And if we are silent about these things, and preach a Christ who saves only from self and the sorrows of this world, we are not preaching the Christ of the Bible . . . Such preaching may soothe some, but it will help nobody; for a Christ who is not seen and sought as a Saviour from sin will not be found to save from self or from anything else”

Devotion time in Psalm 95

user@domain.com — 2010-04-28T07:13:55-04:00

I was discipled in my early years of Bible training by a man who taught me the importance of daily devotions. The first thing he instructed was what he called the key to Bible devotion and study. The principle he said I needed to learn was how to prepare the heart! So, listed below is a summary or paraphrase of what he constantly exhorted me to do before devotions and times of study.

The preparation of the heart is a non-negotiable and without it Bible study will nothing more than an academic exercise. If there is no illumination and understanding of the text correctly then there will be no correct application either. Therefore it is critical that we learn to prepare the heart before we start to read, study and have our quiet times. As one scholar once said "it doesn't do much good to tune the fiddle when the concert is over".

1. Confession of known sin or sin that is being tolerated in one's life (1 John 1:9)
2. Prayer of desperation from the heart of one who earnestly desires to hear from, meet with and obey God (Psalm 34:8)

➢ I - Incline your heart (Psalm 119:36)
"Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain"

➢ O - Open my eyes (Psalm 119:18)
"Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law"

➢ U – Unite my heart (Psalm 86:11)
"Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name"

I am sharing this with you today because of my devotion time in Psalm 95. When you look at the overall structure of Psalm 95 there are two main parts.
1. A celebration of God's kingship (1-7)
2. A warning to Israel about the rebellion of their ancestors (8-11)

Basic Bible study

user@domain.com — 2010-04-28T06:21:08-04:00

For the past couple of weeks we have been studying “Practical Christian Living” from Romans 6. As we study together I thought it might be helpful to list some questions to consider as you come to various sections of Scripture. Again the goal of Bible study is to understand what the author meant by what he wrote. In Bible hermeneutics the cardinal rule is as follows: there can be one and only one meaning for each Scripture but many applications of that Scripture. So with that in mind let’s look at some key questions to ask as one comes before the text.

1. Who wrote/spoke the passage and to whom was it addressed?

2. What does the passage say?

3. Are there any words or phrases in the passage that need to be examined?

4. What is the immediate context?

5. What is the broader context in the chapter and book?

6. What are the related verses to the passage’s subject and how do they affect the understanding of this passage?

7. What is the historical and cultural background?

8. What do I conclude about the passage?

9. Do my conclusions agree or disagree with related areas of Scripture and others who have studied the passage?

10. What have I learned and what must I apply to my life?

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-04-28T05:50:38-04:00

Without the present illumination of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God must remain a dead letter to every man, no matter how intelligent or well-educated he may be. . . . It is just as essential for the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of Scripture to the reader today as it was necessary for him to inspire the writers in their day. - WILLIAM LAW

Do we have homework?

user@domain.com — 2010-04-27T07:27:36-04:00

The short answer to that question is yes. If you are new to the “Learning and Living” Community then here is what you need to know about the homework assignments. This class was started on the premise of getting people back to the word of God, until the word of God got back into them. The three specific disciplines we have taught from day one involve Bible reading, Bible devotion and Bible study. Therefore each week I am prayerful and hopeful that these activities are becoming part of your Christian walk. So I am encouraging a trifold assignment each week and they are as follows:

Assignment #1 - Read through the entire Bible. We are presently reading through a 52 week Bible reading plan that gives a specific section of Bible reading on a daily basis.
So for the person that wants to know, what is the homework for the day, I first want to point them to Bible reading plan. Recent church statistics show that over 90% of those within the church have not read through the Bible at least one time. It is harder to teach when there is not an understanding of the Scriptures as a whole. One of the key components the church is missing today in Bible study is being able to see the big picture connection from Genesis to Revelation. In the first month of our class we covered many different aspects of the Bible. One morning I asked the class, "who is the author of Genesis?" Someone spoke up and said "Moses" to which I replied "that is correct."
Then I repeated the question a different way and asked "who is the real Author of Genesis?" At that point someone else spoke up and said "the Holy Spirit" to which I replied "that is correct." So even though the Bible is composed of 66 books with over 40 different authors, there is one mind and one Author that is connecting it all together.
Therefore we should ask questions and know things like; how is Genesis connected to Revelation, Job to Romans, 1 Samuel to Luke? Getting the overall big picture of the Bible is like putting together a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. We have all learned that the best way to put together this kind of puzzle in to find all the border pieces first. But not only that, we need to have a picture of the box top. By reading the Bible over and over you are getting the picture of the box top and as you learn Bible doctrine that starts to set the border pieces in place. Over the years I have found many in the church don't understand the following two big picture items in regard to the Bible;
1. What is the overall theme of the entire Bible?
2. What is the overall organizing plan that God has set out from Genesis to Revelation?

Again as in the illustration of the jigsaw puzzle these two items above are like the box top. As you read and re-read the Bible you will start to develop a solid understanding as to the unity of the Scriptures. I am a proponent of exegetical Bible study in which you study individual books of the Bible. But I have found it most helpful instead of picking up a piece of the puzzle and observing it and studying each of the aspects of the puzzle piece, we need to have a good picture of the box top that we study first.

Why the "prosperity" gospel is so dangerous

user@domain.com — 2010-04-27T07:19:14-04:00

Here is a short but powerful response to the prosperity gospel by Dr. John Piper.

Jesus said, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” His disciples were astonished, as many in the “prosperity” movement should be. So Jesus went on to raise their astonishment even higher by saying, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” They responded in disbelief: “Then who can be saved?” Jesus says, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:23-27).

This means that their astonishment was warranted. A camel can’t go through the eye of a needle. This is not a metaphor for something requiring great effort or humble sacrifice. It can’t be done. We know this because Jesus said, Impossible! That was his word, not ours. “With man it is impossible.” The point is that the heart-change required is something man can’t do for himself. God must do it—“. . . but [it is] not [impossible] with God.”

We can’t make ourselves stop treasuring money above Christ. But God can. That is good news. And that should be part of the message that prosperity preachers herald before they entice people to become more camel-like. Why would a preacher want to preach a gospel that encourages the desire to be rich and thus confirms people in their natural unfitness for the kingdom of God?

Review for April 25

user@domain.com — 2010-04-25T17:14:11-04:00

Sbs class april252010 part2

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you would like to listen to the audio from today “What is the gospel?”

If you want to print out the notes from today’s class. Click on this LINK

King Manasseh is a "vassal" king

user@domain.com — 2010-04-20T06:18:02-04:00

2 Kings 21:10-12, 16
10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

If you came to the retreat in February we looked at the historical context in which the writing in the Old Testament occurred. We can learn much from the historical narratives by our understanding an ancient near eastern practice called "suzerain" treaties. I have included below the verses from today's reading that highlight when King Manasseh sinned he brought all Judah to sin. You could say it this way "so goes the king then so go the people." Also for those interested in a little more information about suzerain treaties I have included some of the retreat notes on this subject. A special thanks to Lee Irons whose teaching I have borrowed from in this area of study. Again these kings are pointers or foreshadows of the vassal king that would eventually come and who would be fully obedient in every way. That vassal king is Jesus and because of His obedience we who are under His rule and authority may enter into the kingdom.

Notes regarding the suzerain and vassal king
In context of the cultures of Mesopotamia, the Hittites and the fertile crescent
They all practiced the culture of ancient near east treaties

There is a treaty format between the suzerain and the vassal
Suzerain simply means the great king
Vassal means the subordinate who has to obey the great king

Review for April 18

user@domain.com — 2010-04-18T14:26:49-04:00

Practical Christian Living from the doctrines of justification, regeneration and resurrection will be the subject for the next several weeks. The living out of the Christina life begins with learning proper doctrine. This morning we looked at Romans 6:1-14. My goal was to give a proper background and outline as we come to this very important and exciting chapter that teaches both learning and living the Christian life.

Sbs class april182010 part1

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Definition of Justification

user@domain.com — 2010-04-16T16:15:29-04:00

We took 5 weeks on our “March to the Cross” to study in more depth the doctrines of justification, regeneration and resurrection. Therefore I am including an excellent definition from Dr. Douglas Moo that is a bit long but very help in understanding justification.

The Bible pictures all human beings as defendants in a courtroom: a courtroom in which God is the judge and our sins constitute the evidence against us. The judge weighs the evidence and finds every single one of us guilty of sin and announces that we, therefore, must be condemned. The marvelous news of justification is that God has himself provided for us the means of escaping that condemnation: by responding to his gracious initiative in faith, we become joined with Christ, who died for us and was raised for us. We become joined to Christ, who takes on himself the penalty for our sin and covers us with the ‘righteousness’ that we need to reverse the verdict of condemnation and receive the verdict of ‘justified’, ‘right’ with God. And because we have been joined to Christ, the holy one, and have in that union received the gift of God’s powerful holy Spirit, we, who have been justified, also find our lives transformed so that we love God and neighbor.

Where in the world is Pat Jones?

user@domain.com — 2010-04-15T12:14:21-04:00

Do you remember the game “where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” Maybe you have watched the today show and seen as they promote “where in the world is Matt Lauer?” Well, we in the Learning and Living class have our own world traveler. His name is Pat Jones our beloved class leader. While I was working hard today I received this email alert. When I opened it was this photo of Pat. Immediately I thought this must go up on the website. Of course on Sunday you will hear the story behind the picture so bring your friends, neighbors and relatives for story time with Uncle Pat.

Click on photo for another surprise

When Regeneration takes place...

user@domain.com — 2010-04-12T13:12:33-04:00

From the Sacred Sandwich blogsite

Grace "to" you and Grace "with" you

user@domain.com — 2010-04-12T08:08:16-04:00

Yesterday our reading was in 1 Thessalonians Chapters 1-3. Have you noticed how the apostle Paul begins each of his epistles in this manner "grace to you" and end all of his epistle this way "grace with you"?

If I were to ask you a reason for "WHY" he begins and ends the letters in this manner how would you answer that question? Is there a difference between the word "to" and the word "with"? Notice that on the front end the word "to" is always used and on the back end the word "with" is always used. Could you make a 21st century Bible study, Bible devotion and Bible reading application in regard to this observation?

Isn't it amazing that God uses very small words to bring to us very big revelations for our Christian lives!

GRACE TO YOU

Rom. 1:7 ¶ to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Cor. 1:3 ¶ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2Cor. 1:2 ¶ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gal. 1:3 ¶ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

Eph. 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Phil. 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Col. 1:2 ¶ To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

1Th. 1:1 ¶ Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

2Th. 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Tim. 1:2 ¶ To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

2Tim. 1:2 ¶ To Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 1:4 ¶ To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Philemon 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks "Papa" Russ

user@domain.com — 2010-04-12T06:48:41-04:00

This is a blog shout out and thank you to Pastor Russ for teaching our SS community this past week. I received an email from someone who commented on what a great lesson that Russ taught on Sunday.

In 1998 I sensed the calling into full time ministry. It was in April of 1999 that I became part of the pastoral staff at Calvary Church. And not long after that Pastor Russ Rosser was hired and eventually became my boss. We have a long history together and it has been a wonderful friendship and fellowship in our Lord Jesus Christ. One day while working with Russ a co-worker said you know Russ is always around to care and comfort he reminds me of a “Papa Russ.” Well, that nick name stuck and remains even to this day when I call or talk to my good friend. Over the years I have developed a number of “Papa Russ” stories.

Therefore I decided to youtube a story of the first time that I was asked to come into the office of Pastor Russ. You must keep in mind that it was a mile long, and had thousands of books on three sides of the walls. His chair sat up high almost like a king and the chair that you sat in sunk down so that your nose was level with his desk. It was at that time that I learned the “Papa Russ” way. That way always started out with BBBBBEEEERRRRTTTTT, tell me your story. If you would like to see the video then just click on this LINK.

Believers or Unbelievers

user@domain.com — 2010-04-11T11:58:14-04:00

The Bible talks in terms of two categories for all mankind:

Believers or Unbelievers

Sheep or Goats

Wheat or Tares

In Christ or In Adam

In the Spirit or in the Flesh

Good tree or Bad tree

Narrow Road or Broad Road

Heaven or Hell

Which category are you in?

The practical outworking of the resurrection

user@domain.com — 2010-04-10T19:55:34-04:00

Learn to tell the gospel story

user@domain.com — 2010-04-08T07:05:03-04:00

What is the plot line or the story line of the Bible? It is a true story about the unfolding and progressive plan of God to redeem mankind. The story is not about how someone can have a better marriage, a more successful career, or even how to live a healthy lifestyle. But it is a story about mankind being at enmity with God so that the only reconciliation available is through Jesus Christ who died, was buried and three days later rose from the dead. The pronouncement of this event in history is called the good news. And it is good news because God has acted in the person and work of Jesus Christ to save people from their sins. The very sins that once kept them separated from God have been paid in full by the death of Christ on the cross. Also there has been a transferring of righteousness from Jesus to the account of every believer so that they now have the very righteousness of Christ. It is now that the believer can know with 100% confidence that God is for them and no longer is against them. This is really news, good news, the kind of news that makes an eternal difference in the lives of those who will receive it by faith.

Sometimes we get that turned around and end up making our story the subject of the gospel instead of Christ. Often times, since there is very little instruction for people, I hear about how someone got saved. It normally involves mostly a past tense discussion very little present tense and almost no future tense. My other problem is that the story may involve a person who recovered from an addition problem, or the mother decided not to have an abortion, or they survived cancer. Even though there is not an intentional misrepresentation of the "good news" never the less there is a distortion that can be hurtful. The unbeliever may think well if I accept this Jesus then life will get better because that is what has happened to those telling their stories. The young believer can feel despair in thinking that for some reason they are struggling because they just need to believe more. The point is that the main subject and story line in the Bible is Jesus. Therefore the main story line when we tell a story about the good news must be about Jesus.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-04-08T06:09:14-04:00

“Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in for free, aim at earth and you will lose both.” - C.S. Lewis

Hermeneutics, a system to study the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-04-07T09:50:47-04:00

Our SS class is on a relentless pursuit to understand what the Bible means. It is our belief that correct learning of God’s word leads to the correct living of God’s word in our daily walk with Christ. When you hear the expression what the Bible means let me clarify that a bit in this article. The goal of “Biblical hermeneutics” is to understand what the author meant by what he wrote. However today in many churches there is a new form of hermeneutics that has taken over. I want to say from the outset that this new type of hermeneutic is dangerous and can lead to heresy in both teaching and living. The fancy name is “neo-orthodox” which means I can interpret the Bible through the lens of what it means to me. This means that there is no right and wrong but only the perspective from which the reader wants to take the text and understand what it means to them. Have you ever been to a Bible study when the facilitator read a verse and then went around the room to get various interpretations. Dr John MacArthur calls that type of Bible study the pooling of ignorance.

Sound Biblical hermeneutics is a system that is based upon three key principles of study:

Grammatical-Historical
Scripture interprets Scripture
The New Testament is ruling hermeneutic for interpreting the Old Testament

Atonement

user@domain.com — 2010-04-06T07:34:09-04:00

During the last 5 weeks we have been looking at three doctrines on our "March to the Cross." In our reading this week our assignment was Leviticus 16-18 which reminded me of another important word and doctrine, that being atonement. By now you know the drill; can you define it, illustrate it and then support it with Scripture. In the old days I would teach on a book, word, doctrine or a particular Bible truth and move on, but not today. I am reviewing more now in my teaching style than ever, staying on subjects longer and finding that you can teach doctrine way too fast but never too slow. So I am going to cover some ground in this blog article that has already been tilled so to speak. But I hope that these type of reviews will promote review and study in order to keep this important Biblical truths fresh in your mind.

This is all prompted by the reading from Leviticus 16 and the word "ATONEMENT."

Definition
In general the word ATONEMENT is the reparation or price that is paid for wrong doing.

Illustration
If you park in a restricted zone down town to go into a store and you get a ticket, that would be considered a wrong doing before the law and you now must pay $35. This is considered to be the price for your atonement. And when you pay the $35 your status moves from guilt to innocent through the atonement made via the payment.

Well, what about the term “vicarious atonement” or “substitutionary atonement,” what does this mean?

Go back to the parking ticket illustration:
You are the guilty party and you owe the $35, but someone else steps in and pays the $35 for you. As long as they are innocent and don’t owe for any outstanding parking tickets, then the clerk will take their $35 and apply it to your account. And though you were guilty you are not innocent but this time through a vicarious atonement, which means one in the stead of another.

Quote of the day

user@domain.com — 2010-04-05T08:05:29-04:00

That is why, the gospel never
begins with man and his needs,
but with God and his glory.
The issue of the gospel is not
how do we get sinful people to a holy God;
but how does a holy God come to sinful people
without violating His holiness and justice?
And the answer is the cross—
the once for all atoning and sacrificial
work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

From the course “Dose of the Gospel” - Our Redeemer Lutheran Church

The name Christ or "Christos" in New Testament

user@domain.com — 2010-04-05T07:40:04-04:00

Yesterday's reading was in Colossians 3-4. Notice the number of times the word "Christ" appears in Colossians 3:1-17. Therefore I thought it might be helpful to take a brief look at the name of Christ for study purposes.

CHRIST (Gk. Christos). “Christ” is the New Testament designation of Old Testament “Messiah” (Heb. māšîaḥ “anointed”). Frequently the RSV (like the NIV and JB; KJV less often) renders Gk. ho Christos of the Gospels as “the Christ,” meaning that Jesus is the only true Christ (e.g., John 20:31) or the anointed one specifically prophesied in the Old Testament (e.g., 1 Sam. 2:10; Ps. 2:2). At Acts 4:26, a quotation from Ps. 2:2, the RSV translates Gk. toú christoú autoú as “his Anointed,” but at Rev. 11:15; 12:10 the same Greek term is translated “his Christ.”

The two names of Jesus Christ are not really interchangeable. “Jesus” was the name given to the child at his circumcision (Luke 2:21); when the title, Christ, is used, that passage should be understood as a specific reference to the Savior’s office as Mediator, the agent of reconciliation between God and mankind. At times Paul inverts the usual order (“Christ Jesus,” e.g., Rom. 3:24; 8:2, 39).

The appellation “anointed one” derives from the ancient Near Eastern custom of consecrating with oil persons who undertake the responsibilities of a high office. Israel was familiar with this practice during Old Testament times, for prophets, priests, and kings were anointed (e.g., 1 Kgs. 19:16; Ps. 133:2) to confirm that they were officially installed in, and declared competent for, their respective offices. Because these Old Testament figures were anointed for only a short time and discharged their offices imperfectly, Israel anticipated the arrival of the Anointed One, who would not be anointed by men and with oil prepared by human hands, but by God, with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16–17 par. Mark 1:10–11; Luke 3:21–22). For that reason Jesus could testify of himself: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me …” (Luke 4:18 quoting Isa. 61:1; cf. Acts 10:38). Thus, the name “Christ” connotes not only his sacred commission as Mediator and Redeemer of his people, but also the authority and power through which he was able to complete this mission.
Myers, A. C. (1987). The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (207). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.

Review for April 4

user@domain.com — 2010-04-04T18:09:01-04:00

This morning was week #5 in our “March to the Cross.” Our discussion of doctrine turned to the resurrection. The goal was to cover the following;
1. Definition of Resurrection
2. Biblical predictions by Jesus Himself
3. Biblical proof
4. Biblical implications - the implications have two sub themes
a. Doctrinal implications
b. Practical implications
5. Biblical results of the resurrection

We actually got through the first three and next week my plan is to finish number 4 and 5. But I am going to include the notes for the entire teaching session for your study. A special thanks to Dr. Wayne Grudem for his book on Systematic Theology. The notes from the Biblical implications have been taken from his section on the resurrection.

Sbs Class April42010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you would like to listen to the audio from today “That is my King.” Click on this LINK

If you want to print out the notes from today’s class. Click on this LINK

Preview for the Doctrine of the Resurrection

user@domain.com — 2010-04-03T16:51:59-04:00

Quotes for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-04-03T07:11:28-04:00

“Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy; — but the Father, for love!” - Octavius Winslow, quoted by John Stott in The Message of Romans (Downers Grove, Ill.; Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 255.

“The resurrection of Christ not only guarantees us that brand new, sin-free bodies are on the way but a brand new, sin-free world is on the way too.” - Tullian Tchividjian

Evidence for the Resurrection

user@domain.com — 2010-04-02T16:53:17-04:00

Michael Patton from the Parchment and Pen Blog Site gives us a great article on evidence for the resurrection.

Here is what we need:

1. Internal Evidence: Evidence coming from within the primary witness documents, the New Testament.

2. External Evidence: Collaborative evidence coming from outside the primary witness documents.

Internal Evidence:

* Honesty
* Irrelevant Details
* Harmony
* Public Extraordinary Claims
* Lack of Motivation for Fabrication

Honesty:
The entire Bible records both successes and failures of the heroes. I have always been impressed by this. It never paints the glorious picture that you would expect from legendary material, but shows them in all their worst moments. The Israelites whined, David murdered, Peter denied, the apostles abandoned Christ in fear, Moses became angry, Jacob deceived, Noah got drunk, Adam and Eve disobeyed, Paul persecuted, Solomon worshiped idols, Abraham was a bigamist, Lot committed incest, John the Baptist doubted, Abraham doubted, Sarah doubted, Nicodemus doubted, Thomas doubted, Jonah ran, Samson self-served, and John, at the very end of the story, when he should have had it all figured out, worshiped an angel (Rev 22:8). I love it! (ahem).

And these are the Jews who wrote the Bible!

In addition, the most faithful are seen as suffering the most (Joseph, Job, and Lazarus), while the wicked are seen as prospering (the rich man). In the case of the Gospels, the disciples who recorded it claimed to have abandoned Christ and did not believe in His resurrection when told. Even after the resurrection, they still present themselves as completely ignorant of God’s plan (Acts 1:6-7). Women are the first to witness the resurrection which has an element of self-incrimination since a woman’s testimony was not worth anything in the first century. If someone were making this up, why include such an incriminating detail? (I am glad they did—what an Easter message this is for us today!)

The Buzz

user@domain.com — 2010-04-02T14:43:52-04:00

Welcome to our “Good Friday” edition of The Buzz. Simply click on this LINK for audio intro for this week. (intro music)

Well, there was lots of buzz in the evangelical circles and blog sites this week. Because Dr. John Piper extended an invitation to Rick Warren which was accepted to speak at the National Pastor's Conference. What, are you kidding me, is this an April fools joke? No, this is a true story and it is becoming quite the news. Some of you may know that Pastor Piper and Pastor Warren have extremely different approaches to how we should do church. Since "The Buzz" is where we can cover f the hot topics I thought I would bring you the following; John Piper's invitation to Rick Warren and why. John MacArthur's take on Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven philosophy. And finally a letter that Michael Horton wrote this week on his White Horse Inn blog concerning this whole issue. Well that is why I am here because "inquiring minds want to know."

Dr. John Piper extends invitation to Rick Warren to speak at National Pastor’s Conference. Simply click on this LINK.

Dr. John MacArthur offers critique of Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life.” Simply click on this LINK.

Michael Horton writes about Piper’s invitation to Rick Warren. Simply click on this LINK.

Why is it called good Friday?

user@domain.com — 2010-04-02T13:03:18-04:00

From the blog site of Erik Raymond

Good Friday is ‘good’ because…

…Jesus was my substitute there upon that blood-stained tree

…Jesus wore the crown of thorns that I might wear the crown of life

…Jesus was scourged that I might be healed

…Jesus was condemned that I might be pardoned

…Jesus was abandoned that I might be accepted

…Jesus was made to be sin that I might be declared righteous

…Jesus pleased the Father whom I had angered

…Jesus tasted death that I may never taste it

…Jesus drank wrath that I might drink the waters of life

…Jesus died that I may live

…Jesus was shamed for my shameful sin

.Jesus was showered with judgment he did not deserve that I might be showered with the grace that I do not deserve

…Jesus distinguished himself as the exclusive basis for divine forgiveness

…Jesus purchased eternal redemption through his eternal sacrifice to pay my eternal debt

…Jesus crushed the serpent’s head (he defeated the devil)

…Jesus pleased the Father

…Jesus vindicated the glory of God

…Jesus put the attributes of God on full display singing in beautiful harmony (justice, love, wrath, forgiveness, holiness, mercy…)

…Good Friday is good because I am so bad

….and Good Friday is only good because the Savior, our Lord Jesus is so good

What does "imputation" mean?

user@domain.com — 2010-04-02T09:00:42-04:00

Today we remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. The significance of His death is very important as is the resurrection of His body to life. But today let’s look at the word “imputation” as it relates to our salvation and the death of Christ on the cross.

Imputation
A term suggesting judicial activity, referring to both sin and righteousness; Adam’s sin becomes the sin of all human beings in the judicial processes of God, and Christ’s sacrifice is credited to those who exercise faith in Him; (Romans 4:3; James 2:23; Philemon 18)
Karleen, P. S. (1987). The handbook to Bible study

According to Charles Hodge in his Systematic Theology:
The righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believer for his justification. The word impute is familiar and unambiguous. To impute is to ascribe to, to reckon to, to lay to one’s charge. It seems unnecessary to remark that this does not, and cannot mean that the righteousness of Christ is infused into the believer, or in any way so imparted to him as to change, or constitute his moral character. Imputation never changes the inward, subjective state of the person to whom the imputation is made. When sin is imputed to a man he is not made sinful; when the zeal of Phinehas was imputed to him, he was not made zealous. When you impute theft to a man, you do not make him a thief. When you impute goodness to a man, you do not make him good. So when righteousness is imputed to the believer, he does not thereby become subjectively righteous. If the righteousness be adequate, and if the imputation be made on adequate grounds and by competent authority, the person to whom the imputation is made has the right to be treated as righteous. And, therefore, in the forensic, although not in the moral or subjective sense, the imputation of the righteousness of Christ does make the sinner righteous. That is, it gives him a right to the full pardon of all his sins and a claim in justice to eternal life.

Also I have provided a short audio clip for those who also would like to listen in regard to the doctrine of imputation. Simply click on this LINK.

The wondrous cross

user@domain.com — 2010-04-02T07:28:53-04:00

I have included this video to encourage us to take sometime today and reflect on the cross of Christ. Our study in the last four weeks has contained two very important doctrines that resulted from Christ death for us and now His life in us. How easy it is today to live from week to week under a “presumed” grace that lands in the head but never makes its way to the heart. May we as God’s people be amazed at the grace of Christ, who by virtue of His death on the cross takes care of our bad record and bad heart.

Theology to Doxology

user@domain.com — 2010-04-02T07:05:29-04:00

As we continue in our study of Bible doctrine, we should be move from theology to doxology. Because the greatest purpose in life is the worship and praise of God.

“Because God is a person (indeed, he is pictured as our Father), our relationship with him has a dimension of warmth and understanding. God is not a bureau or a department, a machine or a computer that automatically supplies the needs of people. He is a knowing, loving, good Father. He can be approached. He can be spoken to, and he in turn speaks.” - Millard J. Erickson (Christian Theology, pg. 296)

March to the Cross

user@domain.com — 2010-04-01T06:28:06-04:00

We are entering into week #5 in our “March to the Cross.” This has been a time in our class where we are looking at three important doctrines that relate to the death of Christ and His resurrection. In the first two weeks we studied the doctrine of justification and in the last two weeks the doctrine of regeneration. This week we are going to look at three specific elements of the resurrection.

Biblical predictions
Biblical evidence
Biblical implications

Also within this blog site I plan to give you some resource material that I am coming across in my own study. I hope these short articles will encourage you to study along with me as we look into God’s word regarding the resurrection this coming Sunday.

RESURRECTION. The most startling characteristic of the first Christian preaching is its emphasis on the resurrection. The first preachers were sure that Christ had risen, and sure, in consequence, that believers would in due course rise also. This set them off from all the other teachers of the ancient world. There are resurrections elsewhere, but none of them is like that of Christ. They are mostly mythological tales connected with the change of the season and the annual miracle of spring. The Gospels tell of an individual who truly died but overcame death by rising again. And if it is true that Christ’s resurrection bears no resemblance to anything in paganism it is also true that the attitude of believers to their own resurrection, the corollary of their Lord’s, is radically different from anything in the heathen world. Nothing is more characteristic of even the best thought of the day than its hopelessness in the face of death. Clearly the resurrection is of the very first importance for the Christian faith.
The Christian idea of resurrection is to be distinguished from both Greek and Jewish ideas. The Greeks thought of the body as a hindrance to true life and they looked for the time when the soul would be free from its shackles. They conceived of life after death in terms of the immortality of the soul, but they firmly rejected all ideas of resurrection (cf. the mockery of Paul’s preaching in Acts 17:32). The Jews were firmly persuaded of the values of the body, and thought these would not be lost. They thus looked for the body to be raised. But they thought it would be exactly the same body (Apocalypse of Baruch 1:2). The Christians thought of the body as being raised, but also transformed so as to be a suitable vehicle for the very different life of the age to come (1 Cor. 15:42ff.). The Christian idea is thus distinctive.

Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (1010). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-31T15:51:41-04:00

The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. - John Stott

Connect Groups

user@domain.com — 2010-03-30T16:54:41-04:00

Here is a preview of a connect group that met the other night at Dan and Julie’s home. If you are not presently in a connect group we highly encourage you to talk with Christa Moose and get signed up.

What are Connect Groups?
Learning and Living connect group ministry identifies itself with our purpose statement of "equipping God's people to delight in His glory and declare that glory to the nations." These care groups meet together regularly in a non-church setting to help us pursue this goal of delighting in and declaring God's glory in a very personal and practical level.

This is accomplished through…

1. Encouraging one another (i.e., fellowship and biblical application) day after day in our battle against attitudes of unbelief that arise in our hearts to steal our joy in God (cf., Hebrews 3:12-13; 10:23-25);

2. Building up one another (i.e., ministry and discipleship) in faith through the use of spiritual gifts that God freely distributes to His body as He wills for the purpose of edification, so that we might become mature in Christ (cf., Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 14: 12, 26; Hebrews 2:4); and

3. Pursuing our joy in God (i.e., worship and evangelism) through the multiplication of worshipers for the glory of God in our community and beyond.

Groups may vary according to age, special needs/interests, geographical location, family orientation, etc., but they seek to make the above three areas the goal of their existence.

John Piper stepping away from ministry for next 8 months

user@domain.com — 2010-03-29T08:15:31-04:00

It would be rare to find a Christian especially in America who does not know of John Piper. The way Pastor John preaches and teaches evokes strong emotions from both those who love him and those who hate him. I started into full time ministry in 1998. In that same year I was given my first book outside of the Bible by my senior pastor Glenn Wagner and it was a John Piper book called “Desiring God.” After I read it I thought I want to know God like this man knows God. If you have never read that book then do yourself a huge favor, order it immediately and read it.

On Saturday Pastor John made a very important announcement. He is stepping away from the ministry for the next 8 months. Nancy first found this online yesterday and after reading the announcement out loud we both wept. As a pastor I understand and Nancy understands the toll that ministry can take on family and friends.

I am including the announcement the Dr. Piper gave at his church on Saturday night. It is heart warming, sincere, and very transparent regarding pastoral ministry at the most high profile level. John has always been very forthcoming about his own inadequacies in ministry and in this audio clip he doesn’t pull any punches. Allow me to encourage you to listen and pray for this man who God has chosen to use in our time not unlike He used Jonathan Edwards in the 18th Century.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-29T07:23:54-04:00

"I take it that man does not preach Christ and him crucified, who can get through a sermon without mentioning Christ's name once" - Spurgeon

Amazing Grace

user@domain.com — 2010-03-29T06:36:05-04:00

How many times have we sung the beloved hymn by John Newton while in church? After four weeks of study in the doctrines of justification and regeneration I want you to look with me at some of these lyrics.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

Look at the first two lines of the first stanza in lieu of the following verses in the Bible
Titus 3:3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

Gen. 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Eph. 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Eph. 2:2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Eph. 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else, And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Rom. 3:10 as it is written,
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
Rom. 3:11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
Rom. 3:12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

John Newton wrote about what he knew to be the human condition of every person born of ordinary generation from Adam. And he knew this about himself, that he was a wretch, evil and rebellious toward God and what he deserved was judgment, condemnation and hell.

Review for March 28

user@domain.com — 2010-03-28T15:54:43-04:00

This morning we concluded our study of the doctrine of regeneration. However when we come to the “doctrine of salvation” we will cover this in much more depth. There are two different formats I am going to provide you with in the study of regeneration. First, the regular notes that I provided last week but will repost for those for you in the regular slide share format. And for those of you who want to see the readers digest version can simply click on this LINK. It may help to listen to the audio as you go through the first couple of slide to understand my description regarding ROLE VS. IDENTITY.

Sbs Class March28 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

Next week is Easter Sunday and we will cover the resurrection. Hopefully I can post some preview notes during the week for you to read as we prepare our hearts for a wonderful Sunday of celebration.

If you want to print out the notes from today’s class. Click on this LINK

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Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-27T19:06:45-04:00

“How can we break our heart’s fixation on doing ’some great thing’ in order to heal ourselves of our sense of inadequacy, in order to give our lives meaning? Only when we see what Jesus, our great Suffering Servant, has done for us will we finally understand why God’s salvation does not require us to do ’some great thing.’ We don’t have to do it, because Jesus has. . . . Jesus did it all for us, and he loves us — that is how we know our existence is justified. When we believe in what he accomplished for us with our minds, and when we are moved by what he did for us in our hearts, it begins to kill off the addiction, the need for success at all costs.”

- Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods (New York, NY: Dutton, 2009), 93-94.

Therapeutic Moralistic Deism

user@domain.com — 2010-03-27T17:38:32-04:00

Have you ever heard that term? Well, that is Dr. Michael Horton’s subject at the West Coast Conference 2010.

1:30 – 2:30 P.M.
Moralistic and Therapeutic Deism
The Creed of the new American religion is basically this: God is nice and we
are nice, so we should all be nice. The goal of life is to be happy and to feel good
about oneself, and good people will go to heaven when they die. Some who profess
this creed also profess to be Christian. In this message, Dr. Michael Horton explains
how biblical Christianity has been replaced by this vacuous moralistic and therapeutic
deism.

Here is a short video clip that was just shown live over the internet. Again if you would like to view the conference just click on this LINK.

March to the Cross

user@domain.com — 2010-03-27T08:55:29-04:00

West Coast Conference 2010

user@domain.com — 2010-03-26T18:45:22-04:00

This conference is being shown live over the internet right now. If you want more information about the West Coast Conference 2010 then just click on this LINK for the information. I just got this short clip from Dr. John MacArthur who is discussing “becoming a better you” the ministry of Joel Osteen. Dr. MacArthur has some very strong words about the health, wealth and prosperity gospel. And let me warn you if you are a fan of Joel Osteen and his ministry then put on your seat belt. OK, without any further ado here is short video clip of John MacArthur speaking about 20 minutes ago. Just to let you know I did not have time to do any video editing.

Should want to see the conference live then simply click on this LINK.

The Buzz

user@domain.com — 2010-03-26T08:44:08-04:00

This is our Friday edition of the Buzz. For those who are new to our class or website, the Buzz becomes a place for us to dig deeper into the doctrines we study on Sunday. Also it will be a place that I have interviews, videos and audio clips of interest as they pertain to our spiritual growth.
Today’s topic Regeneration means to be “born again.” Since we have been studying the doctrine of regeneration I thought it would be helpful to give more depth and foundation to how we need to understand this critical doctrine.
Born again talk is unsettling to many people because this means not something that you do but must be something that is done to you. Therefore in the American evangelical world it means that we can’t plan, establish, make happen, control or bring it about because only God can do it.

The verses that specifically deal with the phrase “born again” are:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

This is the doctrine of ”REGENERATION“ and can be supported with a number of verses:
John 1:12-13 - But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Devotion time in Ezekiel 19-24

user@domain.com — 2010-03-26T06:58:21-04:00

After reading in Ezekiel this morning I broke it down in the following way:
1. The cause of sin
2. The consequence of sin

Cause of Sin
The cause goes back to original sin that took place in the garden of Eden (Romans 5:12). Man has a heart that is hard, evil, wicked and rebellious against God. As a matter of fact man really wants to be his own god. He wants to plan, be strategic, control in order to be the captain of his own ship and the master of his own fate. Therefore man not only is conceived in sin, but continues to sin in falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Man depends on himself, relies on himself and trusts in himself to the point that he idolizes all that his hands can create. And when you think that these in Ezekiel are the people of God then we quickly realize this represents everyone in all the world. If God's people can't keep the law then what does that say about the rest of the people on planet earth? Each person that was ever born through ordinary generations from the day of Adam has a heart that is evil and desperately wicked. Just look at Genesis 6:5 "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

Consequence of Sin
We have a poor understanding today in the church of how God views sin. As we are going through the attributes of God we learn that God is holy, God is just and God is wrathful against sin. In this section of Ezekiel we are seeing the judgment of God that is being delivered against His own people. There will be death by famine, death by the sword and death by disease. Here is where it helps to go back to the definition of the kingdom and put this into a greater context. The kingdom of God is where you have;

God's people in God's land under God's obedient vassal king. When you read through this section of the Old Testament most all the vassal kings are evil and rebellious. This means that the people are going to reflect the thoughts and actions of the leadership. The land of God must be a place of holiness and righteousness. But instead it has become a place where God's people worship their own various idols. And when you go back and read carefully Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27 and 28, God carefully lays out what will happen if the people obey and what will happen should they disobey. Because in Exodus 24:7-8 the people have put themselves under a covenant of works or covenant of the law. Now in Ezekiel we are reading the consequence that results from the breaking of God's law as it pertains to His people. When you read of the death and destruction that takes place it becomes very hard to read as the video player in your mind turns itself on. But there is an extremely valuable lesson in all this for us today. And that is when we see the horrific consequence of sin on planet earth, that is but a small pointer for us as to how God views sin on a worldwide scale. We read of two women eating their own children and we can hardly bear to think that actually occurred. That becomes a tangible picture for us like a grain of sand compared to the Rockie mountains as to our sin before the eyes of a holy God.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-25T17:25:03-04:00

"What is the true cause of self-righteousness? How is it that such a poor, weak, erring creature as man can ever dream of deserving anything at God's hands? It all arises from ignorance. The eyes of our understandings are naturally blinded. We see neither ourselves, nor our lives, nor God, nor the law of God, as we ought. Once let the light of grace shine into a man's heart, and the reign of self-righteousness is over. The roots of pride may remain, and often put forth bitter shoots. But the power of pride is broken when the Spirit comes into the heart, and shows the man himself, and God. The true Christian will never trust in his own goodness. He will say with St. Paul, 'I am the chief of sinners.'-- 'God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Tim. i. 15 ; Gal. vi. 14.)

- J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Luke, Vol. 2 (pp. 229).

Entertaining the flock

user@domain.com — 2010-03-25T14:49:24-04:00

These articles are placed on this blog site to make those in our community aware of what happens when gospel centered teaching and Christ centered preaching leaves the church. The only option are for things to move in a man centered instead of a God centered direction.

If you like MTV, Nickelodeon, and Disney World all rolled into one fun filled and exciting service then you will love Journey Community Church. This is one among the many new church plants that are growing at a rapid rate around the United States. This particular church is receiving much attention in the community and was written up recently in the Metro Spirit under the title Church of Rock II. Here is an actual quote from the article “It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while I visit a church whose band is so good that I would pay a cover charge to get in. The band rocked the house at Journey Community Church in Evans last Sunday… The reporter Angel Cleary goes on to write about a comedic video skit along with two crash test dummies that were an illustration for a marriage skit. Here is the article from Christian Research Net and also here is the entire article you can read at this LINK.

The survey is in, the people have spoken...

user@domain.com — 2010-03-25T13:30:37-04:00

A while back I put a survey on our blog site regarding the different hats of Pat Jones. The final
results were much closer than I expected. If you want to see the results then simply click
on the photo above or this LINK.

"Getting used to the Dark"

user@domain.com — 2010-03-25T10:17:50-04:00

The title of this blog is a great sermon by Vance Havner. Many of you have heard me refer to Vance Havner a number of different times over the past 18 months. Karen Mitchell in our class told me how much she loves to hear Vance Havner preach. He is with the Lord now, but he is known for the number of “one liners” that he uttered during the ministry years.

I have prepared a short preview of the audio version of “Getting used to the Dark.”

Also I have included some of the famous quotes from this wonderful man of God.

“When the tide gets low every shrimp has its own puddle”

I'm tired of hearing sin called sickness and alcoholism a disease. It is the only disease I know of that we're spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to spread.

Devotion time in God's word

user@domain.com — 2010-03-24T13:56:05-04:00

I think Psalm 46 speaks very loudly to us in an environment that stays busy, hectic and very distracted. In Psalm 46:10 we read "Be still and know that I am God." This may be short and simple but there is much good theology in these words.

1. Be still - when is the last time you were consistently still over a period of days, weeks or yes even months? We must learn to be still not just to pretend or act still. It's like a muscle in the arm when you work it then it becomes stronger. It seems almost a paradox to say we need to practice becoming still but we do. How are you practicing to be still?

2. Know - just that word can tell so much about a person's theology. It says nowhere in this verse for you to "DO" anything. Of course doing is part of the Christian life, no self respecting orthodox evangelical would argue against that fact. But it doesn't start with doing it all starts with knowing. As I have said on many occasions, it is not what Jesus would do but rather what Jesus has already done that is the key. The Lord Jesus Christ links the word know with eternal life in John 17:3, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."(NIV)

3. I am God - we need to remember that in a world that has many, many different types of gods. The god of self-esteem, the god of success, the god of lifestyle, the god of I, me and my just to name just a few. But let's not get confused, God said to Moses tell them that I AM the great I AM. Once I heard a Bible teacher say that God told Moses I AM and now you fill in the blank. I AM...your savior, I AM...your shield and protection, I AM your wisdom and strength, I AM the Alpha and the Omega and so on.

There could be much more to think about and to write but that is a basic kind of devotion that I like to have first thing in the morning. And normally what I do is try and bring the devotion in during the day in conversations with people. Also I try to continue thinking about the main points like being still, knowing God and knowing that He is the great I AM.

Commitment to God's Word

user@domain.com — 2010-03-23T16:14:07-04:00

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-22T08:31:48-04:00

“If you read the Bible from cover to cover you realize that it narrates (proclaims!) a true and cohesive story: the good news that through Jesus Christ God has entered history to liberate and renew the world from its bondage to sin and suffering. This is the story of God, who pursues the restoration of his creation at the cost of his own life. He is making all things new (Rev 21:5)! That’s the simple and yet profound, life- and world-altering plotline of the Bible.”

- Michael R. Emlet, CrossTalk (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2009), 41.

Who is this Jesus?

user@domain.com — 2010-03-22T07:35:47-04:00

We are “Marching to the Cross” as a class to study several doctrines that are critical for us to know. In our march the question may come from those inside or even outside the church “who is this Jesus?”

He is the last Adam
1 Corinthians 15:45

He is the Advocate
1 John 2:1

He is the All in All
Colossians 3:11

He is the Almighty
Revelation 1:8

He is altogether lovely
Song of Solomon 5:16

He is the Amen
Revelation 3:14

He is the Ancient of Days
Daniel 7:9-11

He is the Anchor
Hebrews 6:19

He is the Angel of the Lord
Genesis 16:9-14

He is His Anointed
Psalm 2:2

Justification and Regneneration

user@domain.com — 2010-03-22T06:58:41-04:00

Justification deals with my bad record before God, whereas regeneration deals with my bad heart. Justification takes care of the problem I have as a fugitive from the law. And regeneration takes care of who I am in regard to my bad heart which defiles me. Justification takes place external to me in the courtroom of God. It is an instantaneous act of God in which His gavel comes down to pronounce me innocent in Christ. Regeneration takes place on planet earth and happens inside of me. It is an instantaneous act in which God imparts to me spiritual life so as to receive Christ by faith. They are two sides of the same coin in that you can't have one without the other.

Next Sunday, Lord willing we will dive more deeply into the doctrine of regeneration. Here a two definitions you might want to consider in regard to this doctrine:

* Regeneration is a creative act of power that God does inside of me where God comes and does a creative work in the heart
* Regeneration is a secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us.

The illustration I like to use is that of a fist held up in the air. Make a fist with you left hand and hold it up in the air and pretend for a moment that this is a heart of stone. Whenever Biblical truth comes against this heart it simply bounces of because it is so very, very hard and cold. But then one day the gospel comes with a mega force of spiritual life in which when touched this heart of stone now has imparted to it the life giving force of Christ. At the moment, the very moment that the gospel of Christ which is being delivered via the Holy Spirit hits that hard heart it burst into life and that burst is faith. The heart of stone which once defiled me has now been taken out and a heart of flesh is now beating for Christ.

Review for March 21

user@domain.com — 2010-03-21T17:11:00-04:00

I started today’s teaching with “how” doctrine works in my life when affliction, suffering and hardship show up. My goal as we began was to show the precious truth of God’s sovereignty in the hard things that happen life. It happened to Job, it happened to Paul, it happened to Jesus and it will happen to you and me. One of the roles I have as your teacher is to be sure that you are properly instructed in Bible doctrine, so that when the calamity hits and the adversity comes you will bless God and NOT blame God.
Therefore we took a quick tour of Job 1, 2 and 42. And then we traveled to Habakkuk 3:16-19 and finally to Romans 8:28 and Romans 8:18. Here is the point to the first part of the teaching this morning; when you are weak and broken and you rely on Christ in the hardship this is the point where He becomes most glorified in you as you become most satisfied in Him.

From our start we launched into the review of our “March to the Cross.” Here we are looking at the essential doctrines of justification, regeneration and the resurrection as we head toward Easter Sunday on April 6. The notes contained within will be a review and a preview of the coming week. So as time allows I want to encourage you to read through the notes and think in terms of definitions, illustrations and Scriptural support for these doctrines we are going over.

Sbs Class March21 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you want to hear the audio from class on J.I. Packer’s comments on the church. Click on this LINK

If you want to print out the notes from today’s class. Click on this LINK

March to the Cross

user@domain.com — 2010-03-20T17:34:11-04:00

This Sunday we continue our “March to the Cross” as we study the doctrine of regeneration. Remember from our first two weeks; justification deals with the external, but now we are going to see that in regeneration God deals with the internal. Hope to see you in class tomorrow.

Theology matters!

user@domain.com — 2010-03-19T17:18:22-04:00

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-19T14:36:10-04:00

“The preaching of the cross, the preaching of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on that cross, is the very heart and center of the Christian gospel and the Christian message. Put that in the center, place it in the front, proclaim it above everything else.”

- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, quoted by Arturo G. Azurdia in Connected Christianity (Christian Focus: UK, 2009), 53.

Springtime in Charlotte

user@domain.com — 2010-03-19T13:49:20-04:00

To see more photos click on the picture above

The Buzz

user@domain.com — 2010-03-19T07:50:06-04:00

On this Friday edition of the Buzz I take up the issue of the “EMERGENT CHURCH”

Are you aware of this church movement in America?
Can you define it in general?
Did you know that the emergent church is one of the fastest forms of church growth in our country especially among our youth?
Do you think this is just another healthy expression of the orthodox local church or is it heretical false teaching?
Could your church be embracing and heading toward a more emergent church doctrine?
Are there basic differences in the essentials such as the substitutionary atonement of Christ for us as a result of the cross?

A brief review of Justification

user@domain.com — 2010-03-19T07:21:48-04:00

We are "marching to the cross" as we head toward Easter Sunday. In the last two weeks we have specifically focused on the doctrine of justification. This is the one doctrine according to Martin Luther the church or individual stands or falls on. That is such an amazing statement to me from one of the key theologians in all of church history. Therefore I am trying to find different ways to present this to your learning and living. Today I have created a brief video that will give you a quick review of the definition and also the 6 essentials to know in regard to justification. Don't worry no test will be forthcoming but may I encourage each of you to read this between now and class on Sunday. I once heard a well know pastor and theologian say that one of the keys to a healthy marriage is a good understanding of justification. I think you could broaden the statement to include relationships with people.

Proverbs: A Mini-Guide to Life

user@domain.com — 2010-03-17T13:12:45-04:00

This is from the Gospel Coalition Website and is an article from Pastor Tim Keller.

In my regular, daily Bible reading over the past year I read through Proverbs 3, a passage I’ve studied and preached through many times. But during this reading, I realized that in verses 3 through 12 we have all the themes of the rest of the book, and therefore a kind of mini-guide to faithful living. There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life:

1. Put your heart’s deepest trust in God and his grace. Every day remind yourself of his unconditioned, covenantal love for you. Do not instead put your hopes in idols or in your own performance.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart (Prov 3:3-5a)

2. Submit your whole mind to the Scripture. Don’t think you know better than God’s word. Bring it to bear on every area of life. Become a person under authority.

Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5b-6)

3. Be humble and teachable toward others. Be forgiving and understanding when you want to be critical of them; be ready to learn from others when they come to be critical of you.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Prov 3:7-8)

The benefit of journaling

user@domain.com — 2010-03-17T12:11:53-04:00

If you do not journal during Bible devotion time I would highly recommend that you do so. There is something about reading, thinking and writing notes that locks Scripture into the brain.
This has been something I have done consistently over the past 10 years, and have lots of notebooks filled with Scripture study and devotions. In regarding to journaling the verse that comes to mind is Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. As you journal with Scripture in front of you it becomes a very effective way to renew the mind. Obviously the transformation here is done by the Holy Spirit but we have a responsibility to be wise in the tools we use to take in the Scripture for our daily living.

Beware of 7 countefeit gospels

user@domain.com — 2010-03-16T07:10:50-04:00

From Tullian Tchividjian:

In one of his [Paul Tripp] books (co-authored with Tim Lane), How People Change, he identifies seven counterfeit gospels—-”religious” ways we try and “justify” or “save” ourselves apart from the gospel of grace. I found these unbelievably helpful. Which one (or two, or three) of these do you tend to gravitate towards?

Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”

Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”

Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”

Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”

Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”

Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin—and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs.”

Social-ism. “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-16T06:49:31-04:00

"The first device that Satan has to keep souls in a sad, doubting, and questioning condition, and so making their life a hell, is by causing them to be still poring and musing upon sin, to mind their sins more than their Savior; yes, so to mind their sins as to forget, yes, to neglect their Savior, that, as the Psalmist speaks, 'The Lord is not in all their thoughts' (Psalm 10:4). Their eyes are so fixed upon their disease, that they cannot see the remedy, though it be near; and they do so muse upon their debts, that they have neither mind nor heart to think of their Surety. A Christian should wear Christ in his bosom as a flower of delight, for he is a whole paradise of delight. He who minds not Christ more than his sin, can never be thankful and fruitful as he should."

- Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices

(via Josh Harris)

What do you treasure?

user@domain.com — 2010-03-15T19:57:42-04:00

Jesus said in Matt. 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. There are so many things that vie to be our treasure. It can be expensive cars, nice homes, successful business careers, social recognition and yes even our own families.

But look at the parable in Matthew 13:44. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. For the Christian our treasure must be Christ Himself.

Prayer;
Father in heaven passion my heart by Your grace in such a way that my greatest treasure will be the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ignorance is not bliss

user@domain.com — 2010-03-15T15:11:28-04:00

In this short audio clip the producer from the White Horse Inn is interview students on a Bible college campus. The interview consists of two primary questions, have you ever studied Galatians and what is justification. Since we have invested the last two weeks of our class on the doctrine of justification I thought this would be a relevant post. The comments after the interview are those of the well regarded theologian J.I. Packer, co-author of Grounded in the Gospel. Listen closely as he explains the difference between those in church 200-300 years ago and today.

Simply click on this LINK

Union with Christ

user@domain.com — 2010-03-15T12:04:54-04:00

Yesterday in SS our focus was on justification as we looked at 2 Corinthians 5:21. I listed the following points that would be helpful to study when devoting or studying on this verse. Here is the verse in the ESV; For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The study points:

Christ knew no sin
He made Him to be sin
So that we might become the righteousness of God
In Him

Unfortunately I never made it to point #4 “In Him.” However I came across a great description of this from Tony Reinke’s blog site called Miscellanies. In this blog he puts the notes from a lecture by Professor Richard Gaffin. The phrase in HIm, in Christ, and in the Lord is primarily used by the apostle Paul and occurs over 150 times in the New Testament. Ultimately this means our union in Christ but what does that really mean? Well, check out this article for further help in this area of your study.

Simply click on this LINK.

Week #26 in Bible Reading Plan

user@domain.com — 2010-03-14T19:00:21-04:00

May I have your attention please? If you are traveling with us through the Bible this year we have reached the halfway point in our journey. As we continue there will be stops along the way to reflect on more Scripture. If you haven’t started it would be a great place to begin and allow this to be your day number one. What is the difference between those who can’t read the Bible and those who don’t read the Bible? Answer, nothing because both parties are functionally illiterate. So if you aren’t reading or haven’t starting may I appeal to you to pray for a passionate desire to read, and study the word of God? Read these words from the Lord Jesus in John 8:31“...“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.” For those who are at week 26, I want to exhort you to continue running the race, keeping the faith and fighting the good fight!

Count the Cost

user@domain.com — 2010-03-14T17:26:51-04:00

If you enjoyed our video clip from Paul Washer this morning, then you will enjoy this clip from Pastor Steven Lawson. It is from the I’ll Be Honest website and reads as follows;

What does it cost you to follow Christ? Everything. Steve Lawson preaches on Luke 14 on the Cost of Discipleship. The sad reality is that many people are just part of a crowd, many are in the crowd of those who listen to Piper, Washer, Conway, MacArthur, yet they themselves have not truly submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Search yourself out this very day... have you come to saving faith? Or do you just wish you had the reality of Christ that you see others have? Don't be part of the wrong crowd.

Grab your Bible and a pen, a cup of coffee or tea and take a few minutes to watch this video. Click on this LINK

Review for March 14

user@domain.com — 2010-03-14T12:25:55-04:00

Today we continued in our “March to the Cross” as we again looked closely at the doctrine of justification. After last week a number of people in the class asked if I would continue teaching this particular doctrine. Therefore we are looking at the “doctrine of justification part 2 in our teaching this week. Please understand that in the notes I have included much more than we were able to cover in the class. I would highly recommend that you go through the power point presentation, grab your Bibles in order to mark Bible verses and make some study notes. Also you will find contained within this presentation 6 essential principles you need to learn regarding the doctrine of justification.

Sbs Class March142010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

To see the entire Paul Washer video called “Jesus Died” just click on this LINK.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-13T12:56:10-05:00

Apostle Paul never starts with what we need to do; he begins with what God has already done;get it backwards and miss the gospel - Tullian Tchividjian

The Buzz

user@domain.com — 2010-03-12T12:24:25-05:00

It’s Friday so time for another edition of the Buzz. In follow up to last week’s “The Sovereignty of God” in and through natural disasters you are in for another audio treat.

On January 8, 1956 there were five missionaries Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian who were killed by a tribe known as the Huaoranis.
These five brave men are credited with sparking an interest in Christian missions among the youth of their time and are still considered an encouragement to Christian missionaries working throughout the world. After her husband's death, Elisabeth Elliot and other missionaries began working among the Auca (Huaorani) Indians, where they had a profound impact and helped bring many people to Christ.

The following is a quote that was found in the journal of Jim Elliott - "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

I would like you to hear from the son of Nate Saint whose name is Steve Saint, he wrote a book that several years ago was turned into a movie called "The End of the Spear." The context of this is within the NPR interview last week done with Dr. John Piper. In that interview Dr. Piper referred to Nate Saint and here you will learn the rest of the story. Trust me this is well worth the time to put on bunny slippers, grab the hot chocolate, and listen to this incredible testimony of God’s sovereign grace in and through suffering.

Blessed Subtraction

user@domain.com — 2010-03-12T08:00:05-05:00

Several years ago I was talking to a well known pastor about people leaving the church. He told me that if the church is preaching the gospel as instructed by the full counsel of God’s word then the term is called “blessed subtraction.” I must say I pondered on that for weeks if not months. In a day and time where so many churches are developing strategies to bring in the crowd, a preaching of the full gospel may take people out.

So when I found this picture here is the question that came into my mind regarding the subject of church growth. Would it be better to fill up the church in a “seeker-friendly,” try it before you buy it type of preaching, or basic gospel preaching where the crowds are much smaller? In later posts I will provide actual documentation on this specific issue. I would like you to answer the poll from the perspective of what you are actually observing in the American mega churches. A mega church is a church with attendance over 2000. The answer to poll question covers from Houston to Chicago in other words the whole country. Don’t answer based on what you would like to see but what you do see.

Check out the poll question below:

Why should Christians study the Bible?

user@domain.com — 2010-03-12T07:34:34-05:00

1. There is no subject that is more worthy of our time.
By the way I meant to ask last night if you were asked to give the subject of the Bible in two words how would you respond?
My answer to that question would be Jesus Christ. Let me give you a quotation from one of the great Bible teachers who taught for many years at Columbia Bible College now known as Columbia International University. His name is Buck Hatch and he now resides with that great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12. Here is a quote directly from Buck Hatch - "What is more important to man than God? He is everything. To know God is the primary, pre‑eminent pursuit of any human. And how is he, man, to study, to know God? God has shut Himself up, as it were, or limited Himself in His revelation to mankind through the channel of the written Word of God ‑ The Bible.
This is the only authentic, true text to which we may turn. Anything God has of Himself or His blessings comes from Himself immediately, directly, and only to a human being through this book, God's Word. Consequently, to know God is to know the Bible; to know the Bible is to know God. If God is all important, then His Word is all important. In other words, The Word of God is as important as God Himself. As far as mankind is concerned, this is true. A hunger for God will mean, must mean, a hunger for the Word of God. Therefore, one must immediately realize if God's Word is as important as God Himself (for by it we can know and understand God), then how we interpret God's Word is just as important as God's Word. We must know exactly what it says so that we may know exactly what God says! This is where correct and accurate Bible study plays its important role."

2. It is a litmus test for us as to determine if we are true disciples of the Lord Jesus.
Check out John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine". Sometimes what I like to do is to contrast what I have just read in order that the truth even be brought into my mind and heart in a more significant way. Therefore based on the verse above would it be fair to say that those who don't continue in His word aren't true disciples! Whoa, now that should really get our attention! By the way the word "continue" in this verse is the Greek word "meno" and it means to reside or stay in. If you cross reference this word it also appears in John 15:4 - "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me". One of the keys for determining whether are true or just professing disciples of the Lord Jesus is do we abide in His word!

Battling the epidemic of pornography

user@domain.com — 2010-03-11T07:27:03-05:00

If you put a title on our reading today in Proverbs it would probably be "warning in regards to adultery." Jesus brings further clarity to this issue in the New Testament when He states from the "Sermon on the Mount" these words in Matthew 5:28; "but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Since this is a class focused on Bible doctrine there are a number of "hot topics" that we will probably never cover in depth. However I am utilizing these blog articles with you to cover at times that which we may not cover on Sunday morning.

As you probably already know the divorce rate in America is a little over 50%. And the trend has turned in recent years, as the churches divorce rate has actually exceeded that of those in the world. The reason is because many outside the Christian faith have agreed to live together and not enter into a marriage covenant. And therefore would not be calculated as part of the divorce statistics. I think today the most significant form of adultery that we see in America, is that which is being committed online through pornography. Recently a major university was going to do a study in order to track the effects of pornography on males between let's say 20-40. I don't remember the exact ages but this is fairly close. They were to take one group with no exposure and then set up another test group who had significant exposure over a certain number of years. The study was cancelled before it started because they could find no males that had not been exposed to online pornography. This is not just a problem but an epidemic according to those in the know and it embraces both male and female.

However we should not be surprised by this when we read what the apostle Paul teaches in Romans Chapter 1. He writes under the inspiration of the Spirit, that when a culture, community or individuals start to exchange the glory of God for the glory of man they enter into a descending staircase of sin. This begins with sexual immorality that leads to a culture of homosexuality then leads to a culture of depraved minds. God gives people over to the desires of their hearts. The message in this section of Romans 1 is as follows; If you want to exchange the glory of God for the glory of self and if you continue and maintain this to be your passion and treasure then God will give you over to it. Step back for a minute or two, look at the newspaper and headline news and then read Romans 1 in the context of what you are seeing play out in the American culture.

Are we suffering from Biblical ignorance?

user@domain.com — 2010-03-10T11:40:12-05:00

If we need evidence for the importance of learning Bible doctrine then we need to go no further than this article and audio clip. First the audio clip comes from Dr. Michael Horton with the White Horse Inn. And this was a question asked to students at a conservative evangelical college about Biblical ignorance. To listen just click on this LINK.

Crisis in America’s Churches: Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.

A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in America’s churches, and church leaders must do all they can to address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of people in Christian churches across the United States.

“The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical illiteracy,” warns researcher George Barna. “How else can you describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to Christianity as moderate or even less firm?”[1]

Other disturbing findings that document an overall lack of knowledge among churchgoing Christians include the following:

• The most widely known Bible verse among adult and teen believers is “God helps those who help themselves”—which is not actually in the Bible and actually conflicts with the basic message of Scripture.
• Less than one out of every ten believers possess a biblical worldview as the basis for his or her decision-making or behavior.
• When given thirteen basic teachings from the Bible, only 1% of adult believers firmly embraced all thirteen as being biblical perspectives.[2]

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-10T10:51:35-05:00

“God’s grace is his active favor bestowing the greatest gift upon those who have deserved the greatest punishment.”

– William Hendrickson, Commentary on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (London: Banner of Truth, 1959), 370.

Back to Basics

user@domain.com — 2010-03-10T08:56:06-05:00

Before I go on with this review let me mention something close to my heart. Most people that you come across in the church today have never read the Bible through one time. Therefore one of the first exhortations from our very first study was for the men to read through the entire Bible each and every year. How should we expect to learn "how to study the Bible" if we have never read the very book we are going to study? So I will continue to emphasize as I did last night the big picture approach before starting into a study of individual books of the Bible.

Last night, I again challenged us to know the purpose of the Bible. And the answer is "the glory of God." We have discussed this before, talked about the importance of God's glory and even made references to how this should apply to our life. But I am asking the question from a three-fold perspective. Once the answer comes from the mouth there are three additional essentials I want you to know.
1. How would you define the term or phrase?
2. Can you give an illustration?
3. Are you able to support the definition with Scripture?

Guys this is not a question on Bible jeopardy! This is a question about knowing the God of the Bible and to know Him is to know His word. Check out the high priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17:3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." When we are studying the purpose of the Bible which means we are studying the purpose of God. And the natural follow up question is if the "glory of God" is the theme of the Bible is this the theme of our lives. If you died tomorrow and your wife, children, extended family and friends were able to give a eulogy would they say "his life was dedicated to or lived out for the glory of God." What is the goal of our conversion while we are living here on planet earth? In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read this "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." Each and every day as we read and have devotions in the word of God the Spirit of God is transforming us little by little into a Christ likeness. And should we ask "WHY?" The answer is so that when others watch you, hear you and put a telescope lens up to your life, what they see is the demonstration of the greatness of Jesus Christ!

Is the doctrine of immutability practical?

user@domain.com — 2010-03-09T06:41:08-05:00

One of the practical exercises that will help you learn doctrine is when you see a doctrine put it in the margin of your Bible. Another suggestion would be to keep a journal of the Scriptures and doctrines that you come to as you read through the Bible this year.

This morning our reading was 1 Kings Chapters 14-18. The last two weeks of February we as a class studied the doctrine of immutability. Before I show you where I see the doctrine of immutability in our reading this morning let's have a short review.

The Attribute of Immutability - to say that God is immutable is to say Biblically at least two things:
1. God can’t change in His attributes, His essence, His very being, that is who God is as God
2. He can’t change in His ethical commitments that are an extension of His own moral nature

The first aspect of His immutability is called ontological because this is referring to the very being of God, His essence can not change
God is holy which means He can not be unholy (Lev 11:44-45
God is love which means He can not be not loving (1John 4:8) God is just and therefore can not be unjust (Is 30:18)
God is omnipotent which means God can’t lack power (Genesis 18:14 and Luke 1:37)
God is faithful which means He can not be faithless (2 Timothy 2:13)

The next kind of immutability which is dependent upon the first one might be called ethical immutability.
So by God’s very nature when He make an ethical commitment then He is bound to it.

Bottom line the immutability of God might best be stated as follows; the word of God is as good as it is because the character of God is as good as it is. Again when you read through the Bible keep these things in mind. For example this morning I the following verses an immediately thought about the doctrine of immutability.

A Caring Community

user@domain.com — 2010-03-09T05:41:57-05:00

When our class started in August of 2008 one of the slogans we used for a while was “A caring community unto the glory of God.” As I look back on the beginning days and now today these statements about our ‘learning and living” community still ring true.

So what do we care about?
- We care about getting people back to the basics of God's word
- We care about prayer individually and corporately
- We care about touching, calling and knowing the people in this class
- We care about gathering in order to build relationships at a deeper level
- We care about being there with meals or whatever may be necessary as those in the class are in crisis
- We care about the gospel not only in Charlotte but in the outermost parts of the earth
- We care about being intentional with the time we have to make a difference for the kingdom
- We care about getting involved with others even when it means inconveniencing ourselves
- We care about living truth and not just learning truth
- We care about using our God given gifts and encouraging others to use theirs
- We care about God because He first cared about us!

The Great Exchange

user@domain.com — 2010-03-08T21:53:53-05:00

From the Gospel Coalition Blog site;

John Flavel:

Lord, the condemnation was yours,
that the justification might be mine.

The agony was yours,
that the victory might be mine.

The pain was yours,
and the ease mine.

The stripes were yours,
and the healing balm issuing from them mine.

The vinegar and gall were yours,
that the honey and sweet might be mine.

The curse was yours,
that the blessing might be mine.

The crown of thorns was yours,
that the crown of glory might be mine.

The death was yours,
the life purchased by it mine.

You paid the price
that I might enjoy the inheritance.

John Flavel (1671), from his sermon, “The Solemn Consecration of the Mediator,” in The Fountain of Life Opened Up: or, A Display of Christ in His Essential and Mediatorial Glory.

The Big Picture

user@domain.com — 2010-03-08T18:15:21-05:00

We meet at Pat’s house tomorrow night at 7 PM for our men’s Bible study. This is our continued teaching on “How To Study the Bible.” The first thing we must do is lay down a solid Bible grid from Genesis to Revelation. Often Bible study is about looking at one of the pieces of the puzzle. In doing so we get lost in the piece without being able to understand how the piece fits into the whole puzzle. This is week #5 of our winter session. After tomorrow’s Bible study we will take a two week break and then resume our study again.

What is saving faith?

user@domain.com — 2010-03-08T16:16:38-05:00

Here is a great quote from J.I.Packer on this subject;

Faith is a conscious acknowledgment of our own unrighteousness and ungodliness and on that basis a looking to Christ as our own righteousness, a clasping of him as the ring clasps the jewel (so Luther), a receiving of him as an empty vessel receives treasure (so Calvin), and a reverent, resolute reliance on the biblical promise of life though him for all who believe. Faith is our act, but not our work; it is an instrument of reception without being a means of merit; it is the work in us of the Holy Spirit, who both evokes it and through it ingrafts us into Christ in such a sense that we know at once the personal relationship of sinner to Saviour and disciple to Master and with that the dynamic relationship of resurrection life, communicated through the Spirit’s indwelling. So faith takes, and rejoices, and hopes, and loves, and triumphs.
J. I. Packer, Honouring the People of God, p. 228.

Devotion in Luke 12

user@domain.com — 2010-03-08T06:55:03-05:00

On Saturday our reading was in Luke 11-12. Look at the following section of Scripture;

Luke 12:15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
Luke 12:16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
Luke 12:17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
Luke 12:18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
Luke 12:19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’
Luke 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
Luke 12:21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Read carefully, read slowly and read from a God-centered perspective. Check out the statements of this rich man;

* what shall I do
* I have n place to story my crops
* This is what I will do
* I will tear down my barns and build larger ones
* and there I will store all my grain and my goods
* And I will say to my soul,
* Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease

Sitting under an excellent Bible teacher one night he asked the class does anyone here know of the unholy trinity? He said the unholy trinity in the church today is; "I, ME or MY." Our focus should be on Thou, Thee and Thy but unfortunately we live in a culture that recognizes and applauds the I, me and my. Notice that Jesus later in Luke Chapter 12 gives us something else to consider in this context when He says "“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And we can also connect this to what Jesus taught when He said "from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." In this parable above you can tell much about this man's heart by listening to what is coming out of his mouth. I was in another class where the question was asked; "So how can we have a heart for Jesus?" The teacher paused and said "make Him your treasure!"

Jesus taught in a way and lived in a way that focused on the "Thou, Thee and Thy" and not the I, me or my. Could it be that we are much like the rich man in this parable in that our use of personal pronouns on a continuous basis reflects that which we most treasure in our hearts?

Connect Group

user@domain.com — 2010-03-07T18:20:48-05:00

Our Connect Group gathered on Saturday night for a time of fun, food and fellowship. If you are in our community but not yet connected in a group then may I encourage you to do so. I took some pictures from our time together.

Here is a brief description regarding about connect groups.

Christa Moose in our class is responsible for the Connect Group ministry. She does such a great job with the organization and ongoing vision for this within our community.

What are Connect Groups?
Learning and Living care group ministry identifies itself with our purpose statement of "equipping God's people to delight in His glory and declare that glory to the nations." These care groups meet together regularly in a non-church setting to help us pursue this goal of delighting in and declaring God's glory in a very personal and practical level.

This is accomplished through…

1. Encouraging one another (i.e., fellowship and biblical application) day after day in our battle against attitudes of unbelief that arise in our hearts to steal our joy in God (cf., Hebrews 3:12-13; 10:23-25);

2. Building up one another (i.e., ministry and discipleship) in faith through the use of spiritual gifts that God freely distributes to His body as He wills for the purpose of edification, so that we might become mature in Christ (cf., Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 14: 12, 26; Hebrews 2:4); and

Review for March 7

user@domain.com — 2010-03-07T15:39:02-05:00

Today we looked closely at the doctrine of justification. Over the years I have been privileged to read and study on this subject from a number of different pastors, teachers and theologians. The subject of justification is an ongoing study for me that continues to expand. Through my studies I stumbled upon a book by Charles Leiter called Justification and Regeneration. I found it to be an excellent book that is written for primarily for lay people on these two doctrines. The layout of the 6 essentials of justification that I plan to cover come from Pastor Leiter’s book. I also had to occasion to talk to him on the phone and thank him for his clear writing in this critical area of Bible doctrine. His book is a great tool and would suggest that you add it to your list as a must read.

Sbs Class March7 2010(Actual)

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

Coming this Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-03-06T08:50:49-05:00

Listen to Phil Ryken’s definition of justification at the Gospel Coalition Conference

The Buzz

user@domain.com — 2010-03-05T11:52:54-05:00

This is week #2 for The Buzz. Last week was an intro and why I am now tackling this type of broadcast for our class. There will be a number of different subjects as we continue in our study of Bible doctrine. But this week I have for you one of the best audio interviews I have ever heard on the sovereignty of God in and through natural disasters. In coming weeks I hope to have interviews and other subjects that will allow those in our community to dig deeper.
I hope you enjoy this edition of The Buzz.

Check out the video below in order to understand essentials needed while listening.

To listen just click on play button below;

The evangelical mess

user@domain.com — 2010-03-05T07:50:09-05:00

Dr. John MacArthur has some strong words on his “Grace to you” blog for the present day, “trendy” evangelical churches in America.

You don’t have to be an astute observer of the evangelical scene to notice the unrelenting barrage of outlandish ideas, philosophies, and programs. Never in the history of the church has so much innovation met with so little critical thinking.

Giving a thoughtful biblical response becomes harder and harder all the time. Merely sorting through all the evangelical trends and recognizing which of these novelties really represent dangerous threats to the health and harmony of the church is challenging enough. Effectively answering the huge smorgasbord of accompanying errors poses an even greater dilemma. New errors sometimes seem to multiply faster than the previous ones can be answered.

To sort it all out in a godly way, cutting a straight path through the wreckage of evangelicalism, several old-fashioned, Christlike virtues are absolutely essential: biblical discernment, wisdom, fortitude, determination, endurance, skill in handling Scripture, strong convictions, the ability to speak candidly without waffling, and a willingness to enter into conflict.

Let’s be honest: those are not qualities the contemporary evangelical movement has cultivated. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Consider the values and motives that prompt postmodern evangelicals to do the things they do. The larger evangelical movement today is obsessed with opinion polls, brand identity, market research, merchandizing schemes, innovative strategies, and numerical growth. Evangelicals are also preoccupied with matters such as their image before the general public and before the academic world, their clout in the political arena, their portrayal by the media, and similar shallow, self-centered matters...

The sad truth is that the larger part of the evangelical movement is already so badly compromised that sound doctrine has almost become a nonissue.

The mad pursuit of nondoctrinal “relevancy.” Even at the very heart of the evangelical mainstream, where you might expect to find some commitment to biblical doctrine and at least a measure of concern about defending the faith, what you find instead is a movement utterly dominated by people whose first concern is to try to keep in step with the times in order to be “relevant.”

Sound doctrine? Too arcane for the average churchgoer. Biblical exposition? That alienates the unchurched. Clear preaching on sin and redemption? Let’s be careful not to subvert the self-esteem of hurting people. The Great Commission? Our most effective strategy has been making the church service into a massive Super Bowl party. Serious discipleship? Sure. There’s a great series of group studies based on The Matrix trilogy. Let’s work our way through that. Worship where God is recognized as high and lifted up? Get real. We need to reach people on the level where they are.

Evangelicals and their leaders have doggedly pursued that same course for several decades now—in spite of many clear biblical instructions that warn us not to be so childish (in addition to Eph. 4:14, see also 1 Cor. 14:20; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; Heb. 5:12-14).

What’s the heart of the problem? It boils down to this:many inthe evangelical movement have forgotten who is Lord over the church. They have either abandoned or downright rejected their true Head and given His rightful place to evangelical pollsters and church-growth gurus.

If you want to read the entire article then click on this LINK.

The cross of Christ

user@domain.com — 2010-03-05T05:56:50-05:00

The focus over the next 5 weeks in our community is going to be the cross and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Over this period of time I am hoping to post any number of writings, audio’s and video’s about this subject. One of my key disappointments within the evangelical church in America has been a lack of focus and understanding regarding the gospel. We all know the expression “familiarity breeds contempt” and I fear this statement is true for many Christians today as to the cross of Christ. I pray that as we turn our attention to this important doctrine that we as a community of believers will have a fresh wind of the Spirit that will reignite our passions for Christ.

In this short video Paul Washer gives a strong exhortation that is titled “Jesus Died.” Allow me to encourage you to set aside a few minutes to watch and ponder this great truth in your life and the life of those within your sphere of influence.
To watch simply click on this LINK.

Bible reading in Ezekiel

user@domain.com — 2010-03-05T05:48:15-05:00

The book of Ezekiel offers much debate among evangelicals because it contains so much figurative language. Hopefully as we study through the years I can give you some basic guidelines that will be helpful coming to this type of genre in the Bible.

In the first 6 chapters it seems that you have the following flow of events;

* The glory of God that is seen by Ezekiel in a vision
* The call of Ezekiel into prophetic ministry
* The capture of Jerusalem that is symbolized
* Jerusalem will be destroyed
* God's judgment against idolatry

This is where it is important to understand the covenants. When Moses brings the people to Mount Sinai God give them not only the 10 commandments on tablets of stone but another 613 commands. These commands are divided into three basic groups, civil, ceremonial and moral. Remember in our study that the definition of a covenant is a divinely sanctioned commitment. Divinely sanctioned doesn't mean divinely approved but it means that the covenant has sanctions in it which normally includes blessings and curses. A key for us to understand is that every covenant in the Bible does not operate under the same principle. Though all covenants have blessings and curses not all covenant relationships are conditioned on the human partner.

There are two types of covenants in the Bible

* One is a covenant of grace in which God Himself takes the sanctions
* And covenants of law or works in which the sanctions are taken against the human partner

The simple way to tell the difference is to ask the question; who is taking the oath by which the covenant is taking place. The oath is recognized by the language my I be under a curse if I don't do everything stated in this covenant.

Should God take the covenant on Himself then it will be a covenant of grace
Should man take the covenant on himself then it will be a covenant of works

The Buzz starts tomorrow

user@domain.com — 2010-03-04T20:06:09-05:00

Believing is the evidence of being born again

user@domain.com — 2010-03-04T16:18:54-05:00

In the next 5 weeks our class will take a “March to the Cross.” By the grace of God we, as a community, will cover these doctrines each year prior to Easter Sunday. These 5 doctrines are essential for us to know as we continue to learn and live the God-centered life.

Justification
Regeneration
Redemption
Propitiation
Resurrection

Along the way I hope to include some short video and audio files that will help us to build healthy Biblical categories in our study. This video clip has Dr. John Piper explaining that a person’s faith is the evidence necessary for regeneration. Don’t worry by the time we have concluded you will have definitions and Scripture support for each of these doctrines. To watch simply click on this LINK.

Beware of indifference to Bible doctrine

user@domain.com — 2010-03-04T11:22:48-05:00

One of the arguments that I have battled over the years as a teacher is when people say Bible doctrine is not practical for true Christian living. To that I have a very good and astute theological reply; say what? Michael Patton who has a blog called the Parchment and Pen writes about this kind of thinking among Christians in the church.

This is very common in our world. It is also, to some degree, understandable. People are tired of the search for answers and have decided to just enjoy the journey. While it may not be called “emerging” anymore, the mood is still present and represents a large portion of our culture and church.

For these, the search has brought them nothing but confusion and disillusionment. There are so many things that they used to believe—used to passionately believe—that they no longer believe. They are embarrassed about their former commitments. Because of this, the best approach to theological issues is a sort of “soft-agnosticism.” In other words, people are not saying that truth does not exist, they are simply saying that they don’t know what it is and they don’t think you do either.

As a coping mechanism, theology is distanced from “practical” (Christian) living. Orthodoxy (right thinking) is disassociated with orthopraxy (right living).

A few words of advice for those who find themselves here or heading here:

1. There is no way to distance yourself from theology.
Even the belief that theology is impractical for Christian living is a theological belief. One would have to assume quite a bit about theology in order to make such an assertion. Agnosticism is a theological stance, and quit a complex one at that. You are a theologian whether you like it or not. The question is can you give sufficient warrant for your beliefs.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-04T11:10:06-05:00

“We are not only saved by grace, we are blessed by grace every day of our lives. A common misunderstanding is that we are saved by grace, but we can earn God’s blessings by our obedience. I believe this misunderstanding is not just common, it is the unspoken assumption of the vast majority of Christians.” - Jerry Bridges in March Decision magazine

Proverbs 4; the heart, the word and life

user@domain.com — 2010-03-04T06:43:39-05:00

Our reading this morning is in Proverbs 4. Look carefully at Proverbs 4:23 and understand the context, here are 4 different translations;

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

New International Version (NIV)
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
23 Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the outflowings of life.

And the emphasis in the NIV is important when it says "above all else" guard your heart. So in the context of the writer of Psalms how are we supposed to guard our hearts?

Now look at Proverbs 4:13 in the same 4 translations;

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 Take hold of instruction; do not let go
Guard her, for she is your life.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
13 Hold fast to instruction, let her not go; keep her, for she is thy life.

The wisdom we as Christians need is Christ Himself and the way we are to learn, understand about Him is the very word of God. Isn't that also what we learn from the apostle Paul in Colossians 2? All wisdom and knowledge are in Christ;
Col. 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
Col. 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Look at the connection in this Proverb between one's heart, the word and their life!
And Moses talking to the nation of Israel about the commandments of God or His word in Deut. 32:47 “For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life..."

It is everywhere in the Bible! God is always bringing us back to His word which when properly seen reveals Christ (wisdom in the Proverbs) and that is done through the illumination to our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Kings of the Southern Kingdom

user@domain.com — 2010-03-03T17:10:40-05:00

Click on the pictures to make them larger

As we continue to read through the Bible we are now in 1 Kings. In this book of the Bible we see
the results of the divided kingdom. Here are the kings of the Southern Kingdom with dates
along with Scripture. This is courtesy of the ESV online study Bible and its maps and charts.

Kings of the Northern Kingdom

user@domain.com — 2010-03-03T14:25:27-05:00

Click on the pictures to make them larger

As we continue to read through the Bible we are now in 1 Kings. In this book of the Bible we see
the results of the divided kingdom. Here are the kings of the Northern Kingdom with dates
along with Scripture. This is courtesy of the ESV online study Bible and its maps and charts.

What does it mean to believe?

user@domain.com — 2010-03-03T06:37:20-05:00

John 6:35 ¶ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

First I would like you to focus on two parallel phrases "he who comes" in John 6:35 and "he who believes.” And how that parallels with “will not hunger” and “will never thirst.” Do you see the implication of the word believe? Maybe it would be better for me to ask it this way? Just from this verse how would you define the word BELIEVE as the Lord Jesus uses it here? By the way the word believe and faith are the same words in the Greek, one is a verb and the other is a noun. But when reading the New Testament I find it helpful to interchange the words when reading the Scriptures.

For example in the case of John 6:35 you could read it in the following way "He who has faith." Now go back to John 6:35 and look at the parallel implications between someone who comes to Jesus and someone who believes in Jesus. Doesn't this mean the same thing within this context?

But here is the most important question, what does that mean? Look carefully at the context of what Jesus is saying and answer this question, how is Jesus teaching someone to believe in Him or come to Him? I am going to interchange come and believe as meaning the same thing.

Can you remember a time when you were physically hungry? Let’s say after church one Sunday you take the family to McAllister’s for lunch. They have a sandwich that is so good you can almost taste it before you even arrive at the restuarant. I want you to see the connection between the physical hunger and a spiritual hunger. As you eat the sandwich the hunger starts to become satisfied. Therefore when a person comes to or believes in Jesus, they come to Him in such a way that He and He alone is the One who satisfies them. It also means that believing in Jesus must be accompanied by a satisfaction in Him as the One who can fill our spiritual hunger. Is that true of your coming to and believing in Him?

No Bible Study Tonight

user@domain.com — 2010-03-02T16:21:41-05:00

Old Testament Chart

user@domain.com — 2010-03-02T08:09:44-05:00

Here is an Old Testament Chart that will help in getting a handle on the timeline as it relates to the kings and the prophets.
Also it is a very simple way to remember which prophets spoke to which group of people.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-03-02T06:23:52-05:00

This post from the blog of Ray Ortlund;

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

“The true Christian’s portion is the grace of God. This is the ‘good part’ which he has chosen, and it is the only portion which really deserves the name of ‘good.’ It is the only good thing which is substantial, satisfying, real and lasting. It is good in sickness and good in health, good in youth and good in age, good in adversity and good in prosperity, good in life and good in death, good in time and good in eternity. . . .

The true Christian’s possession shall never be taken from him. He alone, of all mankind, shall never be stripped of his inheritance. Kings must one day leave their palaces. Rich men must one day leave their money and lands. They only hold them till they die. But the poorest saint on earth has a treasure of which he will never be deprived. The grace of God and the favor of Christ are riches which no man can take from him. They will go with him to the grave when he dies. They will rise with him in the resurrection morning, and be his to all eternity.”

J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, ad loc.

Why God does what He does

user@domain.com — 2010-03-02T06:17:27-05:00

On Sunday our Bible reading was in Ephesians 1-3. If you remember a couple of weeks ago I started the Sunday School class by asking the question "what is the chief end of man?" The answer to that question is; to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But then I followed up with the question; "what is the chief end of God?" And I think the answer is; to glorify Himself and enjoy Himself forever. In Ephesians 1:1-14 we can see the answer to the question "why does God act to choose a man in regard to salvation." And three times within the first 14 verses He tells us in very clear language. They are as follows:

Eph. 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
Eph. 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
Eph. 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Eph. 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
Eph. 1:12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

Eph. 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Eph. 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

When we get to this doctrine of salvation there are many other words that we need to define such as election, predestination, foreknowledge, calling, and so on. But for the purpose of this note I want you to see God's answer to the why He does what He does. If Ephesians 1:1-14 gives us a glimpse into what happened prior to the foundations of the world then shouldn't this be consistent all through the Scripture?

The God-centeredness of God

user@domain.com — 2010-03-01T17:15:26-05:00

The Bible must be read from a God-centered perspective. Even though we can see a plan of the unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind, that redemption is for the glory of God. In this short video clip, Dr. James White provides some excellent insight on “how” we must come to Scripture if we want to understand it.

To watch simply click on this LINK.

Behind the Scenes

user@domain.com — 2010-03-01T11:55:06-05:00

The “Learning and Living” leadership team met last night. It was incredible to watch how the Lord has put together such a committed group to “know Him and make Him known.” Last night the leaders put forth plans and schedules that will carry us through the 2010 year. If you are coming to our class but have yet to connect may I encourage you to do so. If you were to do a word search on the phrase “one another” in the New Testament, you would see it occurs over 100 times. Things like encourage one another, pray for one another, love one another and so on. We are created to be in relationship with each other so that as the gifts come together the body of Christ can most manifest the glory of God. Of course I had the camera and tried to get some action shots of the brainstorming and planning.

Review for February 28

user@domain.com — 2010-03-01T10:40:47-05:00

Sbs Class February 28 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

What is happening to Christianity in America?

user@domain.com — 2010-03-01T10:02:26-05:00

I have mentioned this before but the role of a teacher is two-fold in teaching the Bible. At times there must be a warning to those in the body of Christ where false teaching has crept into the church. And second the teacher must bring the truth of God's word developed from a hermeneutical study of the text. Again as you have heard me say over and over, hermeneutics is simply a system of Bible study in which the goal is to arrive at what the author meant by what he wrote. It seems for the last 5 years I have been constantly burdened with the amount of false doctrine and teaching that has invaded the evangelical church. Before coming to teach at Carmel I was hoping to have a radio podcast to review current sermons from the pastors of the largest churches in Charlotte. But long story short one day the phone rang it was Pastor Russ and as Paul Harvey used to say "now you know the rest of the story."

The point of telling you that background is because my study and research has led me to the extremes within the evangelical church. One of my goals in the development of the blog site is to point those in our class toward those pastors, teachers and theologians who are Biblically sound. As you know the church in America has suffered over the past 30 years in what has been referred to as a "dumbing" down of the gospel. The very things that Christians used to hold as precious and dear have now been compromised in lieu of tolerance. Many times since we don't understand the basics of the Christian faith we are passing down our experiences instead of the gospel. Basically we have arrived at the point where no one is right and no one is wrong. Because now in our postmodern culture we both get to be right. There are several different angels that I want to approach this subject from as it relates to what is happening to Christianity in America. And today I have a clip for you from the Resurgence Blog, which is the Mars Hill Church in Seattle pastored by Mark Driscoll. In this clip you have an interview from a staff member at Resurgence church with Dr. Michael Horton. If you were to ask the question today of Dr. Michael Horton, professor at Westminster Seminary in California, what is happening to Christianity in America, here is a sample of what he thinks based on much research and evaluation. He is the author of two very helpful books that the church today needs to read;
1. Christless Chrisitianity
2. The Gospel Driven Life

In this short video clip he deals with the subject of "moral therapeutic deism." Now at first glance you might ask yourself what is that? But you will soon understand after seeing this video. And will go a long way as we seek to answer the question "what is happening to Christianity in America?"

To watch the video, simply click on this LINK.

March to the Cross

user@domain.com — 2010-02-28T17:34:58-05:00

If you follow professional football then Peyton Manning is a familiar name. As the current quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts he is know for his ability to call audibles. An audible is a change of the play at the line of scrimmage for another play based on a variety of factors. All that to say that I am calling an audible in our study of doctrine for the next 5 weeks. Already I excited about this series that I plan to title “March to the Cross.” This will cover the doctrines of justification, atonement, regeneration, redemption and resurrection. Martin Luther was quoted as follows “the church stands and falls based on it’s understanding of justification.” If Luther were alive today he would be appalled to see how little the church understands these basics of the Christian faith.

As I have had the privilege to teach God’s word over the years I want to tell you what has been criticized the most. It has been those who equate the learning of Bible doctrine, to a person who is a spiritual egghead who ends up knowing all the facts but does nothing about what he knows. However when one comes to a healthy understanding of the Bible it clearly says learn correctly in order to live correctly.

My point here is don’t discount or underestimate the power of God’s word. We are not people who are worshipping the word but rather we look to Christ in all things through His revealed word. I hope you see the difference. Regardless we are not learning doctrine to be contestants on Bible jeopardy but rather that we may be transformed into the likeness of Christ. In most cases the biggest critics of intense study in Bible doctrine comes from those who have little passion or desire for the word of God. Allow me to challenge you as I was challenged during the early years of Bible study. How can you be close and intimate with Christ if you are not close and intimate with His word? My Bible teacher used to have piercing eyes when he made the following statement and might I add with much passion “you can be no closer to the Lord Jesus Christ that you are to His word!” When ever he would make that statement the room would almost always have an eerie silence. He would not leave it, but would stay there long enough to come eye to eye with what seemed to be every person in the class.

Review for February 28

user@domain.com — 2010-02-28T12:28:04-05:00

Sbs Class February 28 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

Why the Old Testament

user@domain.com — 2010-02-27T16:59:58-05:00

I read a great article today by Iain Campbell on Why the Old Testament? This will help reinforce much of what we talked about at our class retreat earlier this month.

B.B. Warfield famously described the Old Testament as a room “fully furnished but dimly lit.” By that he meant that all the fundamental elements of the gospel were revealed in the Old Testament but awaited the coming of Jesus Christ to bathe that revelation in glorious light. As Jesus walked alongside the Emmaus disciples after the resurrection, He began shining His light on the Scriptures. Who these two were, we do not know; but what they were is evident: “they stood still, looking sad” (Luke 24:17). His diagnosis of their condition was their misinterpretation of the Old Testament and its clear evidence that “the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory” (v. 26).

If you want to read the whole article simply click on this LINK.

Pray for Chili

user@domain.com — 2010-02-27T14:48:43-05:00

At 3:34 am local time, today, February 27th, a devastating magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. According to Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera, at least 120 people are known to have been killed so far. The earthquake also triggered a Tsunami which is right now propagating across the Pacific Ocean, due to arrive in Hawaii in a few hours. The severity of the Tsunami is still not known.

When Jesus says "close your mouth"

user@domain.com — 2010-02-27T07:03:01-05:00

Now turn to Mark 8:27-38. Look again and notice what the Lord Jesus says next in Mark 8:30 "He warned them to tell no one about Him." In essence Jesus tells His own disciples to keep their mouths shut. And we ask why? Before we look at the answer I want to show you an important Greek word in verse 30. By the way, this is the strongest Greek word that one can use for a rebuke or an admonishment. So we have Jesus rebuking His disciples and saying they should tell no one. This story is about to get very interesting.

So why does Jesus admonish His disciples and tell them to keep their mouths shut. In verse 21 we read "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day." Jesus is telling them right now in very clear language, I am the Messiah who has come to inaugurate the "kingdom of God" in the form of a suffering Servant that Isaiah prophesied about in Isaiah 53. I am the fulfillment of the promises in the Old Testament. Therefore as the suffering Servant I must go to Jerusalem and be crucified, dead and buried but on the third day I will rise from the dead.

Isn't this the message of the gospel? If you had one section of Scripture that you could point someone to that best defines or describes the gospel where would you take them? I would suggest 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."

Now back to our story;
Peter who just a few verses ago gave the correct answer now after hearing Jesus talk about His death, burial and resurrection, takes the living God to the side and REBUKES Him. Can you believe that? Peter in Mark 8:32 uses the same Greek word that Jesus used in Mark 8:30 and Peter admonishes God. Here is the problem with Peter and the disciples, and it is a problem that Jesus knows because He knows their hearts. Peter is saying to Jesus you deserve to have the crown without the cross.
Please don't miss this because this is the exact same strategy that Satan tried to use against Jesus in the wilderness. Satan tempts Jesus with you can have the kingdom right now and there is no need for you to suffer on the cross. Therefore we can understand how when Jesus looks at Peter, He now says "Get from behind Me Satan."
Because Peter is presenting the same strategy and thinking to Jesus that Satan did in the wilderness. This is deadly because it becomes a man-centered theology and not a God-centered theology.

The Buzz

user@domain.com — 2010-02-26T13:24:45-05:00

This is new addition to our website which I am going to name “The Buzz.” It will make sense when you put together my favorite team which is Georgia Tech and their mascot whose name is Buzz. Also my nickname is Pastor B. and what does a Bee do, it does a buzz. Even though that is a terrible sentence hopefully this will be a way for those new or even the veterans of our class to stay informed.

There will be a variety of subjects covered. In future broadcasts I want to field questions that are on the mind of those attending our class. It has been a privilege to teach and dialogue with people during the week and after class about these great doctrines of the Bible. I will also give opinions and talk about some of the current issues that are happening today within the evangelical church. For example a number of people have talked to me about the “Emergent church” movement in recent weeks. Yes, it is real and dangerous but those are the kind of things I hope to address in “The Buzz.”

The goal also will be to have interviews from time to time with other pastor, teachers and theologians in order to and get their insights on any number of interesting topics. So I suggest that when you have time, put on your bunny slippers, grab a hot chocolate, coffee or beverage of choice and have a listen. So without further ado welcome to “the Buzz.”

The sovereignty of God over all things

user@domain.com — 2010-02-26T10:59:06-05:00

We are studying during the 2010 year the doctrine of God. As we progress eventually we come to the sovereignty of God.
This has been a much debated doctrine over the history of the church. But many times what ensues when calamity or adversity happens in life are the questions such as “Why me, Why This, Why now?” This is a repost from Justin Taylor’s excellent blog site.

[God] comes for you, in the flesh, in Christ, into suffering, on your behalf. He does not offer advice and perspective from afar; he steps into your significant suffering. He will see you through, and work with you the whole way. He will carry you even in extremis. This reality changes the questions that rise up from your heart. That inward-turning “why me?” quiets down, lifts its eyes, and begins to look around.You turn outward and new, wonderful questions form.

Why you?

Why you?

Why would you enter this world of evils?

Why would you go through loss, weakness, hardship, sorrow, and death?

Why would you do this for me, of all people?

But you did.

You did this for the joy set before you.

You did this for love.

You did this showing the glory of God in the face of Christ.

As that deeper question sinks home, you become joyously sane. The universe is no longer supremely about you. Yet you are not irrelevant. God’s story makes you just the right size. Everything counts, but the scale changes to something that makes much more sense. You face hard things. But you have already received something better which can never be taken away. And that better something will continue to work out the whole journey long.

The question generates a heartfelt response:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget any of his benefits, who pardons all your iniquities and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

Thank you, my Father. You are able to give true voice to a thank you amid all that is truly wrong, both the sins and the sufferings that now have come under lovingkindness.

Finally, you are prepared to pose—and to mean—almost unimaginable questions:

God's calling, our work and His glory

user@domain.com — 2010-02-26T10:20:43-05:00

In this short video clip Dr. Michael Horton talks about God’s calling in our work.

Bible reading in Lamentations

user@domain.com — 2010-02-26T07:59:39-05:00

Today the book of Lamentations. Whenever we get to the point of laying the foundation of doctrine and progressive line of redemption from Genesis to Revelation then we will be ready to study a book. Again my training was to go from the big picture and then travel to chapter, paragraphs, sentences and finally words. But always the first order of business involves things like date, theme and background. This is where critical and reference commentaries are very helpful to the study process. I will make suggestions on these things later but an excellent online resource is the ESV which I am using for the information below.

Date
Lamentations describes the results of Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem in 587 b.c. in vivid (though stylized) detail. The book has the flavor of personal experience and eyewitness testimony, particularly in the descriptions of death and starvation in 4:1–22. Though it is possible that a long time passed between the destruction and the book's composition, there is no compelling reason to accept this conclusion. Since temple worship had begun again by 520–516 b.c. (during the time of Haggai and Zechariah), it is likely that the mourning for the city and temple had reached its height before then. The date of the writing of Lamentations probably falls between 587 and 516 b.c., with a time earlier in the era being more likely.

Theme
The key passage in Lamentations is 3:19–24, where the speaker affirms that belief in God's mercy and faithfulness is the key to a restored relationship with God. This fact is true even for people who have merited and received God's judgment (1:18). Hope, not despair, is the final word in Lamentations.

This theme becomes clear as the book unfolds. Lamentations presents five intricately interconnected poems. Together they describe a movement from horrible loss and personal shame, to restored hope and prayer for renewal.

Purpose, Occasion and Background
Lamentations was most likely written to be prayed or sung in worship services devoted to asking God's forgiveness and seeking restoration to a covenant relationship with God. Such observances began as early as the months after the temple's destruction in 587 b.c. (Jer. 41:4–5). They continued when the temple was rebuilt during Zechariah's time (c. 520 b.c.; see Zech. 7:3–5; 8:19). As time passed, Lamentations was read and sung as part of annual observances related to remembering the temple's destruction.

After this information is assimilated now start to think where Lamentations is on the overall Bible grid that we have laid out in the men's study. Well, it falls from Exodus to Malachi which means it must in some manner be a pre-figurement. So how does Lamentations prefigure what we see in the New Testament? It seems to have a significant pre-figurement as it points to the ultimate judgment that we see in the book of Revelation. But also points to how God is going to restore His promised seed into the kingdom.

Intersect lunch

user@domain.com — 2010-02-25T20:53:20-05:00

This past Sunday our class had lunch with the Intersect community. The turnout was great and we had plenty of food and wonderful fellowship. Here are a few pictures from the lunch.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-02-25T13:21:56-05:00

If you don’t know who Ray Orlund is then you need to get to know this pastor. The name of his blog; Christ is deeper still is well worth checking out. He provides this very thought provoking quote regarding “the church as bubble.”

“A church is a delicate thing, like a bubble, easily burst. Inside that bubble is a safety zone of immense significance for people. Inside that bubble sinners can receive grace according to the biblical gospel. They can start seeing God in a new way, they can see themselves in a new way, they can grow and change and enjoy the adventure.

The deal-breaker inside that bubble is not personal sins. They don’t have to burst the bubble. The deal-breaker, such that a pastor and elders must intervene, is making the internal dynamics of a church indistinguishable from the surrounding worldly environment of blame-shifting — what we see constantly in political discourse, for example. The thin film of differentiation, our true “separation” from the world, is the gospel of grace in both our theology and our sociology.

A wonderful place to be, a precious treasure to guard, and, for all its weakness, a mighty force for good.”

What story are you telling?

user@domain.com — 2010-02-25T11:49:02-05:00

When I first started to study “hermeneutics” which is a system of how to the Bible, my teacher had this quip in the notes. Church history must always be remembered as “HIS STORY.” I never forgot that quotation and oh how true that is for us in the 21st Century Church. Yes, I have a story and you have a story it is wonderful, specific and God ordained. But in the greater picture which is most important my story or His story. Does God become the actor in my drama or am I the actor in His drama? Sometimes when we get our theology upside down then we end up working on the wrong end of the problem.
The story I need to learn and be able to tell is the story that happen 2000 years ago at the cross. The outworking of that story will determine a person’s eternal destiny, which is either heaven or hell.

In this audio clip the White Horse Inn interviews some folks at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention about the importance of their story or the gospel story. I think you are going to find this quite interesting. Click on this LINK.

The tabernacle in Exodus

user@domain.com — 2010-02-25T10:38:30-05:00

During this past week our Bible reading has also taken us to Exodus 37-40. At the conclusion of Exodus 40 we read the following; 34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

It is helpful while you read through historical narrative to keep a Bible atlas handy for good maps and pictures of things like the Tabernacle.

Click on picture to see larger view

Reading through the book of Proverbs

user@domain.com — 2010-02-25T06:10:11-05:00

We are presently reading through the book of Proverbs on Thursday. My Bible training always seems to take me from the big overall picture down to the small where one can examine the details. For those of you that want to look at a good overall review of how to read Proverbs I have included this LINK from Christian Focus. In this particular article I have attached some of the visual charts that are included in the Adobe download.

Also when reading through Proverbs:
1. Watch for parallelism - Ask; how does the second line of the proverb explain, illustrate or elaborate on the first line
2. Watch for the two ways to live (check out the charts) - Ask; how does this proverb show us the right way or warn us against the wrong way?
3. Watch for Jesus Christ - Ask; How is Jesus the fulfillment of wisdom in this proverb?

This comes from C.J. Mahaney at Sovereign Grace Ministries. Should you want to see the entire article then click on this LINK.

Doctrine and Discipleship

user@domain.com — 2010-02-24T13:24:36-05:00

When we talk about doctrine, a very basic definition is what the whole Bible has to say about a certain topic or subject. And when we discuss the word discipleship we are talking about being a learner of Jesus. In our learning Bible doctrine we are learning about Jesus and therefore doctrine is a critical part of the discipleship process. Keep in mind it is NOT the only thing but hear me clearly, it today is the most neglected part of discipleship. I will continue to say the big problem in our Christian living today is that we have the imperatives ahead of the indicatives. (Deeds not Creeds) If you are new to our class and this blog and have no idea what that statement means then click on this LINK. We get it wrong when we make discipleship about what we do instead about what Jesus has already done.

Here is a short clip from Pastor Ken Jones on discipleship. Click on this LINK.

Isaiah 44:12-17 in today's culture

user@domain.com — 2010-02-24T11:12:25-05:00

Last Sunday I started out with the following question; “What is the chief end of man?”
The answer to this first question of the Westminster catechism is “to glorify God and enjoy HIm forever.”

Well, that begs the next question which is “how” are we to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
And before I gave the answer, my goal was to show the problem in order that we will appreciate more the solution.

To review last week’s power point, click on this LINK.

Therefore I read from Isaiah 44:12-17
Is. 44:12 ¶ The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary.
Is. 44:13 Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house.
Is. 44:14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.
Is. 44:15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it.
Is. 44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.”
Is. 44:17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”

This morning while perusing through some of my favorite blogs I stumbled onto this video at the Resurgence Blog specifically entitled Isaiah 44.

It is less than 5 minutes but has a powerful message especially for those of us in this American culture. Simply click on this LINK.

By the way the answer is through “The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.”

Back from Russia

user@domain.com — 2010-02-24T10:49:06-05:00

On Sunday Tim Wishon (group leader), along with Jay Hancock, Jeff Gaskin, and John Lewis returned from a missions trip to Russia. Jeff and Marie Gaskin are members of our SS community. Below is a picture of Jay Hancock on the right and Jeff on the left as they lead the singing in a Russian school.

Also Jeff came to the Men’s Bible Study last night and gave a brief testimony regarding the missions trip.

To hear about Jeff’s trip simply click on this LINK.

Welcome back to Tim, Jay, Jeff and John and may the seeds that were sown grow 30, 60 and 100 fold to the glory of God!

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-02-23T15:33:01-05:00

“You see, the secret of the gospel is that we become more spiritually mature when we focus less on what we need to do for God and focus more on all that God has already done for us. The irony of the gospel is that we actually perform better as we grow in our understanding that our relationship with God is based on Christ’s performance for us, not our performance for him.” - Tullian Tchividjian

Happy Beyond Description

user@domain.com — 2010-02-23T14:17:42-05:00

This from the Christ is Deeper Still blog;

In 1851 a group of British missionaries to Tierra del Fuego was forced to winter in the bitter cold while they waited for their supply ship to arrive. It came too late. They all died of cold and starvation. On Good Friday, April 18th, Richard Williams, a surgeon and Methodist lay preacher, wrote in his journal, “Poor and weak though we are, our abode is a very Bethel to our souls [Genesis 28:10-19], and God we feel and know is here.” On Wednesday, May 7th, he wrote, “Should anything prevent my ever adding to this, let all my beloved ones at home rest assured that I was happy beyond description when I wrote these lines and would not have changed situations with any man living.”

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” John 14:23

A litmus test for church health

user@domain.com — 2010-02-23T10:29:40-05:00

Over the past 2-3 years I have been able to research a broad spectrum of evangelical websites. This is from those that are considered orthodox (the Bible is the word of God) to neo orthodox (the Bible becomes the word of God). Obviously Carmel and I fit into the first category. There is a website that I want to familiarize some of you who are regulars to this blog site. The site is called 9 Marks Ministries. I have listed the 9 marks they consider to be a litmus test for healthy churches. While they mention the nine marks as an overall guide, they are quick to point out these are not the only important marks of a healthy church. However they do believe they are the most neglected.

As a point of interest one of the key leaders at this site is Mark Dever who is the author of “The Gospel and Personal Evangelism” which was one of our give a way books for the May 2009 retreat.

1. Expositional Preaching

Expositional preaching (otherwise known as expository preaching) is the investigation of a particular passage of Scripture whereby the pastor carefully explains the meaning of a passage and then applies it to the members of the congregation. The point of a sermon, then, takes the point of a particular passage. This is in opposition to the topical preaching showcased in the majority of evangelical churches, where Bible passages are woven together to support a pre-existing point.

2. Biblical Theology

This emphasizes not only how we are taught but also what we are taught. In a sense this should follow naturally from expository preaching because the careful exposition of a passage should lead to sound theology. The majority of poor theology arises from a lack of careful Biblical exposition. Where there is poor exposition, we should expect to eventually find poor theology.

3. Biblical Understanding of the Good News

There needs to be a proper understanding and necessary emphasis on the full gospel. Where many contemporary churches teach that Jesus wants to meet our felt needs and give us a healthier self-image, that is not the gospel. The gospel message is that we are sinners who have rebelled against our Creator. But Jesus took the curse that was rightfully ours and all that remains is for us to have faith in Him so God may credit Christ’s righteousness to our account. When we de-emphasize sin and damnation to make the presentation more friendly and less offensive we cease declaring the full gospel.

New member to L&L Community

user@domain.com — 2010-02-23T08:10:13-05:00

Just for information L and L stands for “Learning and Living.” This has been a wonderful time of ministry at Carmel. I have been privileged to have discussions ranging from the sovereignty of God in election, to the return of Christ and yes even to those who become members of our class. At one time I think Pat was going to have a class constitution to set forth all the principles, guidelines and long term vision. In talking with Pat it has become clear that one of our ministry commitments is to “chowing down” or eating. As we demonstrated last week with the pasta buffet.

So even though this is not a corporate decision from the leadership, we are leaning toward a class policy of eating in order to join this community. Ironically I was contacted by someone who has heard of our class and sent a video even prior to even coming to our class.
I thought the best thing to do is simply post the video and then have a poll question. And please if you are not a member of our community don’t vote. The vote is open to those who presently reside on the class roll.

Based on the following video, simply CLINK ON THIS LINK, does this participant qualify to become member of our class, please keep the context mentioned above in mind before you cast this all important vote.

PS - This is an actual video sent to me from a couple in our class and if you can guess who then bonus points are available and will be added to your next test.

Is a Christ-follower a Christian?

user@domain.com — 2010-02-22T15:09:36-05:00

Chris Rosebrough has come to a definition of a Christ-follower from listening to sermons from the largest seeker-friendly churches throughout America. To be fair Chris has his degree in Biblical languages and is an excellent apologist. Here is the definition he has come to for a Christ follower; someone who has made the decision to be an emotionally well adjusted self-actualized risk taking leader who knows his purpose, lives a 'no regrets' life of significance, has overcome his fears, enjoys a healthy marriage with better than average sex, is an attentive parent, is celebrating recovery from all his hurts, habits and hang ups, practices Biblical stress relief techniques, is financially free from consumer debt, fosters emotionally healthy relationships with his peers, attends a weekly life group, volunteers regularly at church, tithes off the gross and has taken at least one humanitarian aid trip to a third world nation.

Based upon this summarized definition, I've come to the conclusion that the world is full of people who can fit this definition but who've never repented of their sins and trusted in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins. This definition could easily apply to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. In fact, it could apply to Emergent Heretics, Unitarians, Muslims and practicing Jews. The reason why this definition of a Christ Follower could be applied to those outside of Christianity is because this is a definition based upon deeds NOT creeds.

To read the entire article you can simply click on this LINK.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-02-22T07:39:02-05:00

“When I say that God is the Gospel I mean that the highest, best, final, decisive good of the gospel, without which no other gifts would be good, is the glory of God in the face of Christ revealed for our everlasting enjoyment. The saving love of God is God’s commitment to do everything necessary to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying, namely himself. Since we are sinners and have no right and no desire to be enthralled with God, therefore God’s love enacted a plan of redemption to provide that right and that desire. The supreme demonstration of God’s love was the sending of his Son to die for our sins and to rise again so that sinners might have the right to approach God and might have the pleasure of his presence forever.”

- John Piper, God is the Gospel (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2005), 13-14.

The book of Job

user@domain.com — 2010-02-22T04:02:50-05:00

If you are reading with us through the 52 week Bible plan then you know we recently completed the book of Job. Here is a helpful post from Ray Ortlund concerning this book in the Bible that has as its major theme suffering.

I used to think the book of Job is in the Bible because it presents a rare and extreme case of human suffering. “Look at this worst case scenario. If you can see the truth here, then surely in your comparatively small problems . . . .”

Now I think the book of Job is in the Bible because the story is so common. Many are thinking, “What on earth has happened to me? I can’t see what I’ve done that explains this devastation. Where is God in this?”

Enter Job’s three friends. They were cautious at first. But with their tidy notions threatened by his untidy realities, the moralism started pouring out of them: “Come on, Job, get real with us. You must have some dirty secret that explains all this. Admit it, and this misery will start going away.” Their finger-pointing oversimplifications intensified Job’s sufferings, and this too is a common experience.

I don’t think the book of Job is about suffering as a theoretical problem — why do the righteous suffer? I think it’s about suffering as a practical problem — when (not if) the righteous suffer, what does God expect of them? And what he expects is trust. When the righteous cannot connect the realities of their experience with the truths of God, then God is calling them to trust him that there is more to it than they can see. As with Job, there is a battle being fought in the heavenlies.

Trust in God, not explanations from God, is the pathway through suffering.

Upon arrival at the local mall you see the sign that points to the location and reads “you are here.” I want to be sure that each person in our community knows exactly where we are right now. We are studying the “doctrine of God.” Even though that may be obvious there area couple of reasons for my explanation.

First of all we are looking at the vertical relationship between God and man. As in the lesson this morning there is a vital connection between the glory of God and the knowledge of God. The Christian life is composed of not only a vertical relationship but also a horizontal relationship. Please don’t think I am minimizing or ignoring the horizontal aspects of evangelism or Christian service. As a matter of fact the doctrine of the self sufficiency of God forced us to look at “how” we are serving God. But right now in 2010 we are concentrating on the attributes of God, which brings us to a focus on the vertical NOT the horizontal part of the Christian life.

Review for February 21

user@domain.com — 2010-02-21T15:23:26-05:00

Sbs Class February 21 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

If you want to listen to the audio that is part of page 4 (the glory of God) then click on this LINK

Reach new heights reading through the Bible this year!

user@domain.com — 2010-02-20T21:02:28-05:00

We are on week #22 of our Bible reading plan for the year. If you haven’t started yet then
grab your Bible and allow the Spirit to show the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ!
It’s the greatest view in all the world.

Where is the gospel?

user@domain.com — 2010-02-20T12:56:05-05:00

What should those in the church have a regular diet of on a weekly basis? What are people actually hearing within the evangelical church in America? We see more and more that people want to feel good and be motivated so they can leave church feeling upbeat and positive. However when is the last time we have considered death, hell, wrath, judgment and condemnation. Let’s make no mistake it is the gospel saves us from the wrath of God. However today there is a style of preaching that is providing those in the congregation with a “Christless Christianity.”

Listen to this short audio clip from Dr. Michael Horton. Click on this LINK.

In addition, Dr. Michael Horton gives some interesting statistics in the American church. Click on this LINK.

Have you had your Wordle today?

user@domain.com — 2010-02-20T08:00:07-05:00

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like

Can you guess the verses show above in the Wordle? To find the answer simply click on the picture.

If you would like to see the class mission statement in Wordle form click on this LINK

Spiritual Maturity

user@domain.com — 2010-02-19T10:40:37-05:00

This from the blog site of Justin Taylor

Wise counsel from Millard Erickson:

Most persons in ministry will be called on to interpret the message at a level about one step below where they are personally;

They should also try to study some theology at least one step above their position in order to remain intellectually alive and growing. —Christian Theology, p. 80

Coming this Sunday "The immutability of God"

user@domain.com — 2010-02-19T09:56:56-05:00

This Sunday we move to our next subject in our study of the doctrine of God. When is the last time you had some Christian friends over to dinner and then took time to discuss the immutability of God? Well, if it has been awhile this could be just the refresher we need to look at this all important doctrine.

If you would like a PREVIEW for Sunday on the “Immutability of God” then simply click on this LINK.

IF YOU ARE NEW TO OUR COMMUNITY

Listed below are the weekly homework assignments. This is from a post earlier this year but is a good review to keep in mind as we continue in 2010.

Assignment #1 - Read through the entire Bible.
We are presently reading through a 52 week Bible reading plan that gives a specific section of Bible reading on a daily basis.
So for the person that wants to know, what is the homework for the day, I first want to point them to Bible reading plan. Recent church statistics show that over 90% of those within the church have not read through the Bible at least one time. It is harder to teach when there is not an understanding of the Scriptures as a whole. One of the key components the church is missing today in Bible study is being able to see the big picture connection from Genesis to Revelation. In the first month of our class we covered many different aspects of the Bible. One morning I asked the class, "who is the author of Genesis?" Someone spoke up and said "Moses" to which I replied "that is correct."
Then I repeated the question a different way and asked "who is the real Author of Genesis?" At that point someone else spoke up and said "the Holy Spirit" to which I replied "that is correct." So even though the Bible is composed of 66 books with over 40 different authors, there is one mind and one Author that is connecting it all together.
Therefore we should ask questions and know things like; how is Genesis connected to Revelation, Job to Romans, 1 Samuel to Luke? Getting the overall big picture of the Bible is like putting together a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. We have all learned that the best way to put together this kind of puzzle in to find all the border pieces first. But not only that, we need to have a picture of the box top. By reading the Bible over and over you are getting the picture of the box top and as you learn Bible doctrine that starts to set the border pieces in place. Over the years I have found many in the church don't understand the following two big picture items in regard to the Bible;

1. What is the overall theme of the entire Bible?
2. What is the overall organizing plan that God has set out from Genesis to Revelation?

Again as in the illustration of the jigsaw puzzle these two items above are like the box top. As you read and re-read the Bible you will start to develop a solid understanding as to the unity of the Scriptures. I am a proponent of exegetical Bible study in which you study individual books of the Bible. But I have found it most helpful instead of picking up a piece of the puzzle and observing it and studying each of the aspects of the puzzle piece, we need to have a good picture of the box top that we study first.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-02-18T08:33:54-05:00

I have made a covenant with God that He sends me neither visions, dreams nor even angels. I am well satisfied with the gift of the Holy Scriptures which give me abundant instruction and all that I need to know both for this life and for that which is to come. - Martin Luther

The beginning of wisdom...

user@domain.com — 2010-02-18T06:45:12-05:00

When I am doing a devotion and meditating on a verse or a word, normally I will look these up in other translations. This morning I was looking at Proverbs 7:1a. Which of course means the first half of the verse. Here we are in the book of Proverbs which is a collection of Hebrew idioms from King Solomon, that focus on wisdom and knowledge. Notice in the very first Proverb we learn priority number 1 when coming into our study of God. In our initial lesson on the doctrine of God I brought out two terms that we need to learn;

Transcendence means that God is far "above" the creation in the sense that He is greater than the creation and is independent of it.

Immanence means His nearness, kind, caring, protection and being close to us

So in studying the doctrine of God we always start with the transcendence of God first and then move to the immanence of God next. One of the verses I would use to support this is Proverbs 7:1a. Therefore would it make sense that the church in all that it says and does have an emphasis or a priority on this also? I fear we have made Jesus such a friend, buddy and homeboy (t-shirts) that there is little if any fear, which could be translated as worshipful reverence. Imagine for a minute as a priest and for the first time walking into the temple and then having the privilege of walking into the holy of holies. It wasn't to be done in a casual or a flippant type of way but with great fear and awe.

Well let's go back to the verse, the starting point of knowing this God of the Bible is a healthy fear which means we must study in depth these transcendent attributes.

NASB
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

NIV
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools [a] despise wisdom and discipline.

Amplified Bible (AMP)
7 The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline.(A)

NKJV
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

NLT
7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

In this particular case I like what the Amplified brought as to a good understanding of what it means to fear the LORD.

The Retreat Bus Trip

user@domain.com — 2010-02-17T15:12:19-05:00

Rumors are starting that Pat Jones may have a reality TV series call “Bus Trip.” This is one of the pictures we missed from the Retreat Story that we told last week in Sunday School via photos and video.

Devotion in Psalm 63

user@domain.com — 2010-02-17T11:47:44-05:00

When you get time read and meditate on the first 5 verses from Psalm 63. Now the questions for our consideration;

Is the church today producing this kind of Christian?
Are these the youth that are coming from youth ministries all across the country? I
Is this the crazed radical for Jesus or should this be the normal Christian life?
Have we so minimized God's word that to emphasize these verses as typical would make most people really uncomfortable?
When you read these verses do any other Bible verses come to mind?

How about for starters the following;
Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.
John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Philippians 3:7-8 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

If we were to look into the calendars and check books of those right in our midst at Carmel what might we find? Would the calendar and the money point to a seeking, thirst and yearning for Christ? For most Americans you can summarize what they treasure by observing how they invest time, money and energy. And do you remember what Jesus said in Matt. 6:21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Unfortunately today in many cases the affections and attractions of the people are in their jobs, homes, lifestyles, children, social activities or recreation. Christ no longer is the center piece but an add on after everything else gets tended to and done.

How do we fix this problem? Answer - we can't but God can. But how? By encouraging those in our sphere of influence to cry out, appeal, beg, shout, pray that God would extend a measure of faith so that we might seek, thirst and yearn for Him and His word above all else. I desperately want to be a Psalm 63:1-5 type of Christian. There are so many distractions, temptations and influences that pull away from what God wants for me and move me toward what I want for myself.

Can you believe this?

user@domain.com — 2010-02-17T08:42:29-05:00

The other night the leadership team met at Jack and Jeanette Bickett’s home. In this picture I am handing a flower to Nancy while announcing “that she is the rose of my life.” It was a special moment and one that I will always treasure. Then I receive the actual photo of the moment.

So help me out by answering this poll; simply click on this LINK

The unity of Scripture

user@domain.com — 2010-02-17T07:38:15-05:00

In our men’s Bible study the main focus right now is looking at the unity of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. How can you understand where to place the pieces in the puzzle if you don’t have a good picture of the puzzle? I continue to be amazed at the amount of Bible study that is taught without referral to the foundational pieces of Bible doctrine and Biblical theology. As I said at our retreat Bible doctrine is like the border of the jigsaw puzzle whereas understanding the progressive redemption of mankind by God is the box top. Also I gave away the following books to help us grasp these basics as we continue to read, study and have devotions in God’s word. The books I suggest to start with are:

“According to the Plan” by Graeme Goldsworthy
“God’s Big Picture” by Vaugh Roberts
“The Goldsworthy Trilogy” by Graeme Goldsworthy

When one learns the basics it prepares the way to have rich study with individual books of the Bible. The other day while perusing some of my favorite theological sites I came upon this sound clip. The gentlemen speaking is Dr. Michael Horton, professor at Westminster Seminary which is in California. But what grabbed my attention was the foundational groundwork he laid prior to the study of Galatians. This should be exciting for those who are regulars to this blog site, or especially for those who attended the retreat. Listen carefully to how Dr. Horton ties together a rich understanding of the entire Bible before launching into the study of a book within the Bible. This is in hermeneutics the “unity of Scripture” is so important. Because this is where we take the whole and then start to understand each of the pieces that make it up.

To hear this sound clip simply click on this LINK.

When ignorance IS NOT bliss

user@domain.com — 2010-02-16T11:02:41-05:00

The White Horse Inn recently celebrated there 20 year anniversary on the radio. The tag line for the show is simply this”know what you believe and why you believe it.” They do a great job in talking about the basics of the Christian faith especially as it comes to the understanding of Bible doctrine. In the last 30 years there has been a purposeful dumbing down of the gospel. It has been said by some of the largest and most popular growing churches in America that people need to “TRY IT” before they “BUY IT.” So the marketing of Christ starts from the church that brings in the clowns and three ring circus, all the way to the pastor who shows up in a polo shirt and Bermuda shorts. It becomes all about stories, illustrations and feel good in order that those in attendance can learn how to live their best life now.

However in previous years there was a reverence and real commitment to God’s word and these basic foundational doctrines. I am including a 21st century clip from a Christian booksellers convention in which those there were asked to give a definition of justification. If you want to know how important the church has considered this doctrine to be over the years then listen to the words of Martin Luther. “The church will either stand or fall based on it’s understanding of justification.”

So with this in mind listen to this interview with fellow Christians as they attempt to define justification.
Click on this LINK.

Men's Bible Study

user@domain.com — 2010-02-15T12:54:55-05:00

We meet tomorrow night at Pat's house, 7 PM which is session #2 for our men's Bible study. The goal this year is to study and understand the plot line of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It should become obvious in this study, that without a sound Biblical grid our interpretation will be incorrect. Again, the study of Scripture first begins with understanding how the parts all relate to the whole.

Last week you were given a grid that in the unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind by God. I suggest that you memorize this grid in order to understand how our study will progress. On Tuesday night I will do my best to summarize the entire grid and answer any questions. As we continue in 2010 one of the exciting benefits will be to connect the dots as you read through the Bible. As I said on Sunday there are two important basic foundations that each Christian needs in "how to study the Bible." One is the understanding of the 8 essential doctrines in the Bible, and the second is the progressive redemption of mankind, starting in Genesis and going through Revelation. As the weeks progress we will breakdown the different sections of Scripture, starting with Adam and Eve, then Abraham, followed by Moses, then King David, the prophets and finally Jesus Christ. If you have never totally seen how all this goes together or even better yet if you can't explain it, then come on Tuesday as we learn "how to study the Bible."

Hope to see you tomorrow night at Pat's house - blessings,

Bible Doctrine is not fast food

user@domain.com — 2010-02-14T16:22:12-05:00

When learning Bible doctrine you can go too fast but you can never go too slow. Therefore I am committed as we go through the doctrine of God to have us marinade in each of these areas. The teaching of doctrine should be very practical to all who are participating in our class. Each week, as we read through the Bible, there are opportunities to recognize and meditate on the very doctrines that we are studying. Our tendency will be to hear the truth and then want to immediately move to another truth. And that is the very reason I have been so insistent on the three following things in regard to our study:

Be able to define the doctrine
Be able to give an illustration where applicable
Be able to support the definition with Scripture

My former Bible teacher drilled this statement in my head “Bert if you can’t explain it or articulate it then you simply don’t know it yet.” He would go on to say you may have heard it and recognize it, but the principle or truth is still just rolling around inside your head. There were many times he would put me on the spot to explain something and instead I sounded like Porky Pig. But I am thankful that he continued to exhort me to study and remain consistent in the study of God’s word. He would say you need to approach this like a marathon and not a sprint.

Also let me encourage you to study these doctrines 15 minutes for 5 days instead of 1-2 hours one day during the week. Trust me, these are truths that the brain needs to assimilate in small doses over long periods of time. The reason I so love the retreat format is because you can cover large amounts of foundational Bible truth. And then throughout the year break down into small bite sized study increments. Presently I am working with two primary Bible foundations. The class on Sunday is dedicated to Bible doctrine. In this type of study we looking specifically at the doctrine of God’s word, God Himself, Man, Christ, Spirit and finally the doctrine of salvation. Think of this kind of Bible study in terms of a circle.

Review for February 14

user@domain.com — 2010-02-14T12:52:38-05:00

Today we finished the self-sufficiency of God with a focus on application. I want to encourage you to study the notes regarding self-sufficiency of God. Don’t allow what has been planted to shrivel and go away. Be very conscious of this doctrine when you are reading through the Bible. Take the time to write this in the margin of your Bible when you come to verses that confirm it. We have simply scratched the surface in our look at Psalm 50, Isaiah 40:12-17, and Acts 17:24-25. Now that we have invested time learning the doctrine now let’s move to the living.

If you are a regular to this part of our website then be on the lookout for next week’s lesson. We are going to be talking about the immutability of God. Again this is a very critical doctrine to understand as we are knowing God by knowing His word.

Sbs Class February 14 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-02-14T04:49:05-05:00

The good news of God’s grace beautifies how we treat one another. In fact, the horizontal reveals the vertical. How we treat one another reveals what we really believe as opposed to what we think we believe. It is possible to say, “We are a gospel-centered church,” and sincerely mean it, while we make our church into a law-centered social environment. We see God above lowering his gun, and we breathe a sigh of relief. But if we are trigger-happy toward one another, we don’t really get it yet. - Ray Ortlund

Coming this Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-02-13T13:51:31-05:00

For the notes from Sunday’s class simply click on this LINK

Seeker-Friendly means...

user@domain.com — 2010-02-13T11:54:37-05:00

During our retreat last weekend I was asked a number of questions regarding the “Emergent” Church. So I thought it might be helpful to give definitions to many of the current church styles and methodologies with the evangelical church. The first one we will look at is “Seeker-Friendly.” And for that description I will refer you to an article from the Parchment and Pen Blog Site.

Seeker-Friendly normally refers to the method of conducting a Sunday morning church service where all the events surrounding the service are tailored with the unchurched in mind. The goal of this model is to attempt to make the “seeker” feel comfortable by making the service understandable and enjoyable.

In this sense, the church is attempting to build a bridge with the unbeliever with the ultimate goal that they will hear the Gospel and be saved. The preaching model in the seeker churches follows suit. Every sermon is simply another way to present the Gospel. Deeper learning, fellowship, and discipleship are encouraged but are not normally part of the Sunday service. They are commonly found in mid-week small groups and studies.

Opponents of the seeker model will argue that the Sunday service is not meant to be for the unbelievers, but for believers. There is a wide range within the spectrum of how seeker-sensitive a church might be. One end might be thought of as “seeker-friendly” and the other “seeker-driven.” Rick Warren and Bill Hybels are often thought of as the modern day “fathers” of this model. It is primarily found in evangelical churches.

It may be better to define with a short video, just click on this LINK

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

user@domain.com — 2010-02-12T20:56:25-05:00

Nancy and I went out to eat and came back in 2-3 inches of snow. So I came in grabbed the camera and started to take some photos. To see the photos simply click on this LINK.

Reality Sunday School

user@domain.com — 2010-02-12T15:27:32-05:00

OK, though Pat and I work very closely together we still have our moments. Several months ago I sent Pat some emails that were intense but in a good sort of way. So I thought you might enjoy a look behind the scenes, at the way we tend to work out any differences that come up from week to week. The first part is Pat’s call to me and the second part gives my response to Pat.

So if you want to hear Pat’s nurturing voice mail and see my wise response then simply click on this LINK.

Reflections from Retreat 2010

user@domain.com — 2010-02-12T11:00:02-05:00

The dinner from which our class had it's earliest beginnings was in May 2008. During the subsequent months I talked to Pat about a plan of having class retreats away at least once a year. We now stand on the backside of two retreats, May 2009 and February 2010. As a teacher it seems that God has called me to a ministry of exhorting and admonishing people back to the Bible. If you talked to someone 12 years ago that first heard me teach or someone that heard me within the last month it has been the same. We need to get back into God's word so that God's word can get back into us! For we as His people can be no closer to Christ than we are to His word.

My evaluation as I look upon what God is specifically doing with our group is this; allow me to again us the illustration of a jigsaw puzzle. There are two essentials you need when putting together a massive jigsaw puzzle. One thing you need is the border and the other thing you need is the box top so you can see the big picture. In the last two retreats God has provided first the border as we examined the doctrine of the gospel. And this year the box top as we looked at the big picture from Genesis to Revelation. Unfortunately, and I said this to those at the retreat, we have treated the Bible in many cases like one of the jigsaw pieces in the box. We grab up a piece and start to examine it but have no idea how it fits into the big overall picture. The subject this year was "end times, Genesis to Revelation." And my point is simple but important to understand, without an overall grid to lay down from Genesis to Revelation then there is no way to understand end times from the Bible.

Therefore we looked specifically at the organizing plan of the Bible which is "the unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind by God." Also you may remember that I talked about Bible doctrine, which we are studying on Sunday's being similar to a circle and progressive redemption from Genesis to Revelation being similar to a line. So in two retreats we have the basic foundational components that make up the border and box top of the Bible. There is much more to study in regard to each of these but at least we have started to lay the ground work.

Behind the Scenes

user@domain.com — 2010-02-11T06:40:05-05:00

This is a special note of thanks to DAN MILLER and DON LANE. Both of these brothers went over and beyond this weekend, as Dan handled the sound board and recording, while Don captured the retreat on video. We are forming a team that has as its main mission to proclaim the greatness of Christ! Dan and Don are examples of the kind of ministry that goes on behind the scenes and I very much appreciate all they do. It is the very reason that we read in 1 Corinthians 12 that each part of the body is critical for the overall good of the body. I personally had the opportunity to spend time with Dan and Don at separate times going from Charlotte to and back from Asheville. In those car rides it was wonderful to hear both of these men express their love and passion for Christ. Again I want to thank them for serving us in this way during our Retreat 2010 weekend.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-02-11T06:18:17-05:00

I would suggest that listening to mainstream radio with your guard up and your worldview filter on is safer than listening to Christian radio with your guard down. Subtle, bad theology is more dangerous to unsuspecting Christians than is blatant bad theology. - from blog site Christians in Context

Final thoughts regarding Job

user@domain.com — 2010-02-11T05:31:37-05:00

This morning we come to the end of Job. After 42 chapters all that has happened to Job, the wrestling and questioning, along with the bad theological advice from his three friend, what does Job conclude? Read carefully verse 2 and then think of an adjective that best describes God from this verse. Job 42:2 "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted." The best adjective to describe God from this verse seems to be sovereignty.

The sovereignty of God means;

* Ruling
* Reigning
* Ownership

It brings together the attributes as these are the things that make Him sovereign. God is good, wise, holy and these things come to bear as He rules, leads and governs.

Definition: God plans and carries out His perfect will as He alone knows is best, over all that is in heaven and earth, and He does so without failure or defeat.

Sovereignty is a statement about God’s CONTROL over all things in His PLAN and His EXECUTING that plan.
How wide? - over all heaven and earth
How successful is God in this plan? - without failure or defeat

So the natural question for us to ask especially from our reading of Job 42:2 would be, what is God's ultimate purpose? The answer to this question is located all through the Bible. But let me take you to one book of the Bible where that answer is found three times within 14 verses. Turn to Ephesians 1:1-14. In these verses is found the purpose of God for us on planet earth that no man can thwart. I will highlight the answer in the following verses.

Herein lies the danger...

user@domain.com — 2010-02-10T13:01:01-05:00

Hard verses in the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-02-10T12:33:09-05:00

I have meant to write earlier in the week but am still decompressing from this weekend. Later on I am hoping to write an article called "reflections from Retreat 2010." This was one of the highlights of my last 12 years in full time ministry. Lots of reasons but that is enough for now.

In yesterday's reading of 2 Samuel 24:1 did you read carefully? I am going to list it for you in several translations below;

"Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah." (NIV)
"Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, "(Go, number Israel and Judah." (NASB)
"Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him. (NLT)

Later on in your Bible reading plan you are going to read about the same event in 1 Chronicles 21:1. Here is this verse in the same three versions as listed above.

"Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel." (NIV)
"Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel." (NASB)
"Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel."(NLT)

If I were to ask you who caused David to number Israel and Judah how would you answer?
In this example we see the exact same scenario that plays out in the book of Job Chapters 1 and 2.

Answer - Satan is the secondary agent, but God is always primary.

The actions that David took were under the sovereign control of God, don't argue with that just read 2 Samuel 24:1. But also there is human responsibility on the part of King David because we read in 2 Samuel 24:10 that his heart was troubled due to his sin. Every action is under the sovereign prescription of God but at no time does He ever violate the free will of man. Does that cause your head to hurt? Well it should because that is a mystery that we can see plainly taught in the Bible but our minds can not handle that infinite truth. Allow yourself to be amazed at our God in that we can't figure Him out. His ways are so much higher than our ways and His thoughts beyond our thoughts. Don't bring God down to your ability of understanding Him.

The Bible is God-centered

user@domain.com — 2010-02-09T15:27:36-05:00

This is from Doug Wolter

As I look at the Psalms, I’m amazed at how little we do and how much He does. For example:

Psalm 23:1-3
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me besides still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Psalm 40:1-3
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and [he] heard my cry
He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
and [he] set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.

Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the LORD,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 91:14-16
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and [I will] honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and [I will] show him my salvation.

In summary, all I need to do is come poor and needy because He comes to me rich in mercy. Hallelujah!

Dynamic Duo

user@domain.com — 2010-02-09T12:34:28-05:00

This weekend both Megan Jones and Kay Jones fulfilled important responsibilities. Megan brought us our worship music and did a fantastic job. While Kay started off Friday night with a welcome and then provided announcements during the weekend.

If you want to see the trailer for Retreat 2010 then click on this LINK

Retreat Slogan

user@domain.com — 2010-02-09T08:44:40-05:00

Anytime you go away for a retreat it seems that something special always tends to happen. This retreat was no exception with the fact that we did not know until Friday as to whether we could drive to Asheville. Our industrious leader Pat Jones secured a bus for the group in less than a day and the rest as they say is history. During the time together we came up with a “Retreat Slogan.” I am going to give credit to Kay Jones and we thought about having this put on t-shirts. I think it would be a great conversation starter with those in our class who were not able to go. So if you happen to read this article and were not able to attend then find someone who went and ask “what is the grid?”

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-02-09T07:41:34-05:00

“Our whole life as Christians is a process of sailing confidently into the open seas, dying down in exhaustion, and having our sails filled again with God’s precious promises…

No less than when we first believed, we must always attribute to the gospel the power that fills our sails with gratitude, and to the law the proper course that such gratitude takes. At the beginning, in the middle, and at the end, the gospel ‘is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes’ (Rom. 1:16).” - Michael Horton, God of Promise pg 193-194

Ready...Set...Go!

user@domain.com — 2010-02-08T18:06:55-05:00

Our men’s Bible study will officially kick off tomorrow February 9, 7 PM at the home of Pat Jones. The subject for this year is learning “how to study the Bible.” If you are in our SS Community may I encourage you to come so that we can learn, discuss and have some fellowship around Christ and His word. This will be a 5 week intensive and then a two week before starting back up again. Here are the dates so you can put them on your calendars.

February 9
February 16
February 23
March 2
March 9

The redemption of mankind

user@domain.com — 2010-02-05T05:35:29-05:00

There are two important questions I think one needs to ask when approaching the Bible. The first question has to do with the purpose and the second question has to do with the plan. I would argue that the purpose of the Bible is “the glory of God” whereas the plan of the Bible is the “unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind.” We need as Christians a sound hermeneutical grid that we can lay over the Bible. The word hermeneutics simply means a system to study by in order that we can properly determine what the author meant by what he wrote. My old sales boss used to say “if you don’t have a system to sell by you will automatically be part of the prospects system to buy by.” I think that is how many Christians approach the Bible. They don’t have a system to study by so they default to what others say and teach.

Again here is a plug for reading through the Bible time and time again. As you read there starts to form a unity of Scripture within the mind of the reader. It seems that most Bible preaching today deals with a few verses and then immediately to application. So people are trained to be selective in their personal reading, study and devotion. One of the key components of Retreat 2010 is to teach an organized plan from Genesis to Revelation. And the plan revolves around the redemptive history that we read from the Old to New Testament. The following is partial post of a blog article from Carl Gobelman on the redemption of mankind as brought out in the Bible.

"For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17)

Lately, I've been bothered that refer to the bible as "the owner's manual for life." To me, this is very dismissive of Scripture. It's as if the bible becomes the book to turn to when we're sad or happy or angry or lonely. Just go to the bible and get that 'pick me up' to keep going through life.

I don't want to deny the ability of the bible to provide hope to the discouraged or strength to the downtrodden. But that is not the bible's primary purpose. First and foremost, the bible is a story. It's a story of how God created the world and placed the man he created in his image in a paradise on earth. This man he created disobeyed God and fell from grace. From that point on, the bible tells the story of how God moved to redeem his fallen creation; culminating in the birth of Jesus Christ.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-02-04T20:15:56-05:00

Today’s church has become so obsessed with results and relationships that they no longer have an interest in the things of God – only “building community.” - Bruce Wells

Back to our regularly scheduled program

user@domain.com — 2010-02-04T09:11:20-05:00

The February Retreat 2010 is still on the bubble. If you are familiar with “March Madness” college basketball then you know the term “on the bubble.” This means that a team is close to making the tournament but not yet determined so they are on the bubble.

So while we are on the bubble so to speak I am going to get back to our regularly scheduled programming. If tomorrow the window of weather allows us to get to Asheville then I will reinstate RETREAT 2010.

The following is a devotion from Psalm 57.
Psalm 57:2 (Amplified Bible) I will cry to God Most High, Who performs on my behalf and rewards me [Who brings to pass His purposes for me and surely completes them]!
This was part of our reading for yesterday. Here is the same verse in the NIV I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me. So as we think and meditate on this verse let's ask the question "what is the purpose of God for my life?" I heard a wise pastor once say "the quality of questions one asks will be proportionate to the quality of one's life." If you can answer this purpose question, then would you not agree this should be the highest priority of your life? Psalm 57:2 tells us that God is accomplishing and fulfilling His very purposes through my life and your life. What is that purpose?

Drive through church

user@domain.com — 2010-01-31T09:18:36-05:00

The way we live in America can be easily demonstrated by the drive through window at the local McDonalds, Chick-Filet or Wendy’s. In most cases we are in a hurry, and since we live in the age of consumerism then we expect what we want and when we want it. In the case of the drive through, we can order, get it almost immediately and then be gone. Believe it or not I have eaten chicken nuggets so fast that I have almost finished at times before leaving the parking lot. My mouth looks like a tree shredder with nugget remnants flying past my mouth and cheek. Many people in church take almost that exact approach to Bible devotion time. As I have said many times before “the church isn’t influencing the culture but rather the culture is influencing the church.”

To get a better perspective on “DRIVE THROUGH CHURCH” click on this LINK.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-01-31T06:10:59-05:00

Since our Bible reading for Sunday is in 2 Corinthians, I thought this quote was a great way to start the week.

It is one of the main purposes of this epistle [2 Corinthians] to show that this immense discrepancy between the treasure and the vessel serves simple to attest that human weakness presents no barrier to the purposes of God, indeed, that God’s power is made perfect in weakness (12:9), as the brilliance of a treasure is enhanced and magnified by comparison with a common container in which it is placed.

Philip E. Hughes, Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973), 135.

Connecting the dots...

user@domain.com — 2010-01-30T08:54:14-05:00

Did you connect Jeremiah 33 and Luke 1 in your Bible reading? Specifically in Jeremiah 33:14-18 who is this in reference to? Look in the margin of your study Bible and see what the cross reference is for Jeremiah 33:17. This is Jesus Christ, the righteous branch of David and the One who come through the line of David. And why is that important? Because Jesus Christ is the King, the chosen Seed from the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12, 15 and 17.

Now fast forward to Luke Chapter 1 and see the very fulfillment of this promise. Read again Luke 1:54-55 and you see the reference to the Abrahamic covenant. And then move to Chapter 1 verses 68-73 and you see the reference to the Dividic Covenant and the Abrahamic covenant. How do these two covenants that God initiated in the Old Testament relate to what He is doing in the New Testament? Should we understand how to connect these dots? Do we know how and can we explain what they mean in regard to God's redemption of mankind?

Hey folks, you will notice all through the Bible that God speaks and then God acts. I have heard it explained in these terms what God says He always does! Finally the King has arrived on planet earth and in His person and work will act on behalf of God to save His people from their sins.

Here is just one of many practical examples of see the unfolding plan of God to redeem mankind. Check out what God says in Romans 10:13 - for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." And so we see again that what God says He does!

Our message to the class, community and world is "CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD" for today is the day of salvation!

Where are the Jeremiah's?

user@domain.com — 2010-01-29T12:36:06-05:00

In the early 80's a new phenomenon came into vogue in the American church. It was based on finding out what the customer wanted and then find a way to give it to them. This movement to a large degree has been traced back to Robert Schuller and the Crystal Cathedral. Click on this LINK. Quickly this became the way to grow the church in width but it became very dangerous in regard to the depth. As methods, plans, philosophies and finally the American business model was put into the mega-church many of the mature saints simply left. And then in 2007 something happened that others have called the biggest church story in the past 50 years. Bill Hybels, the senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church (20,000 members) announced that after 30 years of church ministry they made a mistake. In essence he talked about the millions and millions of dollars spent to get the consumer into the church instead of growing up the Christians in the church. As a matter of fact he was quoted as saying "it was the biggest wake up call of my adult life." Their conclusion, and here I am paraphrasing, back to the word of God and prayer.

The Bible reading for this morning is Jeremiah 32-36. Jeremiah was a prophet. This next is a quote from "Hermeneutics for lay people"
"Usually we think of the Old Testament prophets as simply foretelling the future, and certainly that is an important part of nearly every prophet's message. But the OT prophets primarily spoke to a situation at hand primarily a contemporary message or what we might call forth telling. To understand the prophet's message we must understand the historical background and the Occasion to which God was speaking. When studying the prophets we must ask, "What was God saying to His people?" This essential background for the Prophets is found in Kings and Chronicles. Supplemental background information can be found in extra Biblical references such as Bible encyclopedias and critical commentaries. But remember, the information that is essential to understanding the Prophet's message is found in the Bible itself.

Coming this Sunday (weather permitting)

user@domain.com — 2010-01-28T09:16:22-05:00

The last few weeks we have been covering the doctrine of the self-suffiiciency of God. This Sunday I will start with a brief review but then move into the application for this doctrine. When we started out I gave a three-fold approach to this particular study;

Definition of Self-Sufficiency
Scriptural Support for this Doctrine
Illustrations that help to explain so we can understand

It is common to hear the following objections to the doctrine of self-sufficiency;
Key Questions that arise because of God’s Self-Sufficiency

1. Why are we here? What is our purpose?
2. Why does God demand our obedience?
3. Why does God enlist our service?
4. Why does God call us to pray?
5. Why does he require our worship?

On Sunday we will spend time going through these five questions listed above. If you want to preview the answers to these objections prior to class then I have included them in this blog article.

Allow me to mention that my study in Bible doctrine has been mainly and specifically done under the teaching of Dr. Larry Dixon, Dr Wayne Grudem, and Dr. Bruce Ware. In this article I am using the very notes given to me by Dr. Ware on this subject. So I want to again say thanks to each of these fine theologians, and a special thanks again to Dr. Ware who has been kind to share notes and much teaching on this subject.

1. Why are we here? What is our purpose?
The answer is NOT that God was lonely and needed fellowship. Ps 50 – he’s offended and dishonored to think so.
Rather, particularly in relation to his people, the answer it this: though he doesn’t need us, he loves us, and his purpose in creating and redeeming us is not that we might fill up some lack in him, but that he might fill us up with himself. He made us empty to be filled with his fullness, thirsty to drink of the water of life, weak to receive his strength, foolish to be instructed and corrected by his wisdom. In his love, he longs to give, to share the bounty. He wants us to experience in finite measure the fullness of joy and blessing that he knows infinitely—all to redound to the praise and glory of his name, the Giver and Provider of all the good we enjoy. C. S. Lewis, in his The Problem of Pain, says that God’s love is not like ours, helping another while needing also to be helped. No, God’s love, says Lewis, is “bottomlessly selfless, by very definition; it has everything to give and nothing to receive” (p. 50).

During the Christmas break

user@domain.com — 2010-01-26T14:24:53-05:00

I know what you are thinking, aren’t you a little late on this post. Actually I wanted to put this up earlier but over the holidays I had first a cough, then the flu and finally a sinus condition. Basically I was on the couch from December 13 till about two days before we came back in January. One night it was bad, I will spare you the details but I appealed to Nancy for an emergency room visit.

Here are two short video clips from comedian Bryan Regan that best describe that particular night, and what would have happened if I had opted for the emergency room.

Click on Video #1
Click on Video #2

Hope you enjoy!

The danger and destructiveness of sin

user@domain.com — 2010-01-26T06:36:28-05:00

This morning our reading is from 2 Samuel 10-14. As I read I meditated on the danger and destructiveness of sin. We can observe from the text that King David's feet took him to a place he should not have been. He is on the roof of his palace but this is a time of year where he should have been at war with his troops. His eyes looked where they should never have been. His thoughts then leading to words that came from his mouth as he sent for Bathsheba. His hands and arms holding onto the wife of another woman and getting her pregnant. Almost immediately my mind rushed ahead to the following verses in Mark;

Mark 9:43 “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,
Mark 9:45 “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell,
Mark 9:47 “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,

John Owen the Puritan theologian was quoted as saying "be killing your sin or it will be killing you." Sin takes you to places that you shouldn't go, introduces you to thoughts you shouldn't think, desires the very things you shouldn't have, says the things you shouldn't say and does the things you shouldn't do. And Jesus teaches that we must be violent to the point where we are killing our sin.

When we are finished in the doctrine of God, the next part of our curriculum is to study the doctrine of sin. Just look in 2 Samuel 11 at the dangerous progression of this sin in the life of King David. First he sees with the eyes and then he lusts in the heart and then he acts on what he sees and desires. Does that remind you of another story in the Bible. How about Genesis 3:6 when Eve observes the food of the tree, which results into a desire for the food she sees and that leads her to take it and eat it.

In one chapter 2 Samuel 11, King David described as a man after God's own heart has committed adultery and murder.

Can you see an application? What sin is lurking or being tolerated in your life? Places that you may go, things you may see, thoughts you might think, and desires you might have that lead to actions you might take. Sin is so very dangerous and so very destructive. But for the Christian there is a strategy and it involves violence and war.

Listen to this short audio clip from Dr. John Piper, click on this LINK. (The context of this audio is Romans 8:12-17)

Review for January 24

user@domain.com — 2010-01-24T13:59:15-05:00

This morning I began with an encouragement for those in our class going on the retreat and for others who need to take a retreat. Hopefully this verse will become a tradition for us to look at each year before our time away. We looked at Mark 6:31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

We then continued in our of the doctrine of self-sufficiency. By next week we should conclude with application from what has been learned via the definition, illustrations, and Scriptural support from Isaiah 40:12-17, Exodus 50:4-15 and Acts 17:24-25.

Sbs Class January 24 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

Audio for Slide #5 click on this LINK

Video for Slide #19 click on this LINK

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

Coming this Sunday

user@domain.com — 2010-01-23T06:12:58-05:00

The teaching plan for Sunday is to continue in the self-sufficiency of God. The study plan that I am attempting to lay out for the class, and by the way, it is different than the reading plan and the devotion plan. But the study plan has three main components;

Define the doctrine in easy to understand layman's language
Support the articulation of a doctrine with the Bible
Give illustrations where applicable

For example, since we are studying the doctrine of self sufficiency we need to start with a definition.
Definition of self-sufficiency - God possesses within Himself, intrinsically and eternally, every quality in infinite
measure.

Last week we read the entire chapter of Isaiah 40 and then looked at verses 12-17. The breakdown of this section of Scripture seems to flow in the following manner.
In Isaiah 40:12 we can see the power, bigness and immensity of God. Then in verse 13-14 Isaiah moves from God's power to the knowledge and wisdom of God. And finally in verses 15-17 we learn the implication to the nations of the verses above.

An illustration of this text might be the one that I used in class last week.
Illustration:. My plan, Lord willing is to have this very devotion some morning in Isaiah 40:12 with the grandchildren and then take them to the beach. When I get there I am going to ask them if they want to see me do an experiment? So I say now kids when Pa Pa B gets in the ocean he is going to go down and scoop up all the water in his two hands and when he comes up out of the water I want you to notice the level at which the water drops. Of course they will say they didn't see any change and that is when I will act amazed and say OK I am going to do it again and this time watch very closely. Again the same response and then I plan to come up on the beach and kneel beside them and tell them about the God who made everything and how He can scoop up the Atlantic Ocean in His hand and hold it. So what kind of picture is Isaiah trying to get us to see in this passage about our God? He is really big, powerful and immense!

Beware of "proof texting" the Bible

user@domain.com — 2010-01-22T05:02:46-05:00

Over the past year a number of specifics have come up in regard to Bible study. There is a term called “proof texting” that we need to be aware of as we study. Instead of me going into a long explanation at this time, let me suggest you watch the short video posted below. In this video Dr. James White encourages Christians to beware when it comes to certain Bible teachers who "proof text." This can be a form of false teaching where a theological position is supported by using certain Bible passages ripped out of their proper context.

The important principle to grasp from this short video is learning to keep the flow of thought from the author in proper context. This is true of any specific book of the Bible but also true in the flow of thought from Genesis to Revelation. While in seminary a professor once remarked that an atheist said to him that there is no God and the Bible declares that to be true. The person went on to sight the following text from Psalm 14: “...There is no God...” However we need to read the whole verse to keep the entire statement in context and it reads as follows; Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. Even though this is a very simple example it still shows how part of a verse can be ripped from context to support a certain point of view.

The dangers of proof texting the Bible; simply click on this LINK. (may take a minute or two to load)

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-01-21T11:52:12-05:00

“Those who looked for the city that has foundations sought it for no other reason than that its maker and builder is God. It is because it is the city of God, the structure in which he has embodied his own perfection, in which his thoughts and purposes for his own stand objectified, that it forms a worthy object of the supreme religious quest of the believer. In it is God at every point, and those who dwell in it see him constantly. The measure of their desire for it becomes the measure of their love for God.” —Geerhardus Vos, Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2001), 229

Beginning with the End

user@domain.com — 2010-01-21T10:24:46-05:00

This has been a week of fruitful discussion regarding the “self-sufficiency” of God. On Sunday I am planning to begin where we left off last Sunday. Here is what is critical to understand from the meaning of Isaiah 40:17 All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. First of all let’s be sure we know what this DOES NOT mean. It doesn’t mean that God regards us as a big fat zero, doesn’t care and we are just a bunch on nothings running around on planet earth. And we know that because of verses like:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” You could paraphrase for God so love the nations.

Revelation 5:9 “And they *sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

You can see from the reading of the verses above that we are very much something in the eyes of God.

So what does Isaiah 40:17 mean? It means that our talent, abilities, and giftedness when compared to the glory, magnificence, knowledge and wisdom of God doesn’t even make it on the radar screen. If you take all of human accomplishments from the beginning of recorded time until today and place that next to the accomplishments of God they look like nothing.

Remember again our definition of the sufficiency of God - “God possesses within Himself, intrinsically and eternally, every quality in infinite measure.”

You might be thinking OK, I believe that God is self-sufficient but that means He really doesn’t need me for anything. So the next logical series of questions might be as follows;

1. Why are we here? What is our purpose?
2. Why does God demand our obedience?
3. Why does God enlist our service?
4. Why does God call us to pray?
5. Why does he require our worship?

The Bible has answers for us in this regard so stay tuned for further details in the weeks to come.

Background for Psalm 51

user@domain.com — 2010-01-21T07:41:04-05:00

We are guilty in the evangelical church of NOT reading in context. How many times have I warned in our class about just reading one verse? I continue to encourage you to read the paragraph before and after, but at least the paragraph of the verse itself. Also context can mean understanding the historical background of the passage in order to better understand what the author meant by what he wrote.

Yesterday our Bible reading was in Psalm 51-53. Psalm 51 is the response of king David to God for his sinful actions against Bathsheba and Uriah. Many scholars believe that king David was going to the temple and carrying on as normal for as long as a year. So what does God do? Who does God send? And what is the genre that God uses to get king David's full attention?
Well as you know God sends the prophet Nathan and when Nathan approaches king David he tells him a parable. You can read this in 2 Samuel 12:1-7. But at the conclusion of the parable David says "surely the man who has done this deserves to die." And Nathan turns to the king and says "you are the man." Imagine the facial expression at that moment of king David and what immediately went on in his heart and mind. (Side Note; if you are reading in a NASB study Bible you will notice that in the margin for Psalm 51:1 is a cross reference to 2 Samuel 12:1. Do you see how cross referencing is important to also understanding the overall context?)

Now you have the background for Psalm 51 as you read. But I want you to observe a critical point that the prophet Nathan makes to king David in the following verses;
2Sam. 12:9 ‘Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon.
2Sam. 12:10 ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’

Notice the Hebrew parallelism of this verse and what it means. Nathan is laying out a Biblical principle here that moves far beyond king David and his sin before the LORD. In these two verses, through the inspired writer, here is what we learn; despising the word of God is equivalent to despising God Himself. Could we paraphrase this verse in the following way; ignoring the word of God is equivalent to ignoring God Himself, having no relationship with the word of God is equivalent to having no relationship with God Himself. Maybe in our culture the better way to bring clarity, so as not to get people defensive is to say; a love for God's word means a love for God Himself!

Do you love Christ?

user@domain.com — 2010-01-19T18:02:16-05:00

Sometimes in our gospel zeal we end up talking more about the benefits that we do the Benefactor. We focus our attention on the gifts rather than the Giver. In our excitement to tell others about the blessings and say little about the Blessor. So in this brief blog article I am asking a simple question “Do you love Jesus Christ?”

I am not asking do you love Christ for what He can do for you in terms of health, wealth and prosperity. But as I heard one pastor ask the question, if you could have eternal life, get all sins forgiven forever, have fellowship with family members and friends throughout eternity, enjoy the unending delights in a glorious heaven for eternity but the only catch is the Lord Jesus isn’t there, would you still want to go?

Observing the "Big Picture"

user@domain.com — 2010-01-19T11:36:50-05:00

One of the key learning tools for me has been the unity of Scripture. Let me use an illustration that you have read from me before. Suppose a friend of yours invited you to a house warming party. This is where people drop by to see someone's home and to take a tour. Can you imagine knocking on the door, walking immediately into the dining room with your magnifying glass to examine one of the legs of the dining room table? Well that is exactly how many people today come into their study of the Bible. First of all we need to come up to the house and observe landscaping, structure of the home, roof style and those things visible from the outside. And then when we enter get a tour that gives us an overall feel for the flow of the home, from foyer to kitchen to den to bedroom and so on. In other words we first look a the big picture of everything before we look at and study of any one thing.

If your involved in the Bible reading plan then you are coming into a section of Scriptures that can be quite confusing. You have Saul as the first king of Israel, then David and then Solomon. But after the problem with Solomon's son there is a division into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Then the reading talks about the king from the north and then a king from the south. As you read there is this king in the north that overlaps with the reign of kings in the south and vice versa. On top of all that you have the prophets appearing on the scene. Some are prophesying specifically to the northern kingdom and some to the southern kingdom. All in all the details here can be a bit overwhelming to the point you can get a bit bogged down. My solution is to bring you back to the "big picture" so that you can know where you are at any point and time.

So for your Bible reading ease and convenience I have attached a chart that hopefully can clear up confusion. I find that visual charts are very helpful when it comes to reading and understanding historical narratives. And as you know, the first 17 books of the Old Testament are historical narratives. The chart listed below will give you a "big picture" overview from 1 Samuel through Malachi. Just click on the words below and they will take you to the charts.

Chart #1

The chart above is in a file format that allows you to print this out

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-01-19T09:39:33-05:00

“Begin reading your Bible this very day. The way to do a thing is to do it, and the way to read the Bible is actually to read it. It is not meaning, or wishing, or resolving, or intending, or thinking about it; that will not advance you one step. You must positively read. There is no royal road in this matter, any more than in the matter of prayer. If you cannot read yourself, you must persuade somebody else to read to you. But one way or another, through eyes or ears, the words of Scripture must actually pass before your mind.” -John Charles Ryle, Practical Religion, “Bible Reading,” page 131.

The Bible is NOT boring

user@domain.com — 2010-01-18T14:57:21-05:00

If you were in class a couple of weeks ago I went through 7 key reasons that people give as to why they don’t read the Bible. One of the reasons is “the Bible is boring.” In this short audio clip Pastor John Piper is talking about the word of God. I wonder how many people in the church today really think the Bible is boring and don’t realize the problem is not the Bible but the problem is them.
To listen simply click on this LINK.

The knowledge of God

user@domain.com — 2010-01-18T12:29:25-05:00

Our Bible reading for today is Exodus 17-20. If I asked you where the Ten Commandments are located in the Bible, how would you answer? OK, here is a hint, they are located within our Bible reading plan for today. Let me go one step further, what if I were to ask you to name the Ten Commandments. Could you name all ten of them? You might answer "no I can't," but going to heaven is not conditioned upon being able to recite the Ten Commandments." And to that I whole heartedly agree and would further add the only condition for heaven is faith in Christ. So why even bring this up unless we are training for Bible Jeopardy and want to enter a team from our SS class? By the way as a small side note but important to the point of this email, that question was asked not long ago in survey form to various Christians. To hear how they did click on this LINK.

The post-modern evangelicals get a bit upset when Bible knowledge is a main emphasis within the church. Here is a quote from a popular pastor today that has a church between 10-15,000 members, in he said “most Christians are educated way beyond their level of obedience anyway.” The overall implication of this kind of preaching is to downgrade what a Christian needs to know and upgrade what a Christian needs to do. Once again we get the imperatives (commands) ahead of the indicatives (the realities of what Christ accomplished on the cross). I want to make it clear that there is a huge difference between "knowing about God" and actually "knowing God." But I will continue to maintain as we learn Bible doctrine, that a litmus test of our knowing God is in direct proportion to our knowing His word. A.W. Tozer said in the 1950's that the knowledge of God in the American church was so low that he classified it as idolatry. Why would he say something that strong? Because he knew that when people don't know the God of the Bible they tend to construct a god of their own imaginations. And how is that different that going out in the backyard and cutting down a tree to pray to and worship. So why is knowledge important? Because the Bible teaches it is important throughout the Old and New Testament. I could give many examples but let me refer you to;

Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
As the waters cover the sea.

Do you see the connection that God makes in the passage above between knowing Him and glorifying Him?

When I ask can you name the Ten Commandments it is not asked from the Bible jeopardy perspective but from the knowing God perspective. As you read, embrace and understand these commandments you will get to know the God of the Bible. As this knowledge grows so will your behavior as a Christian. We all behave in a way that is consistent with those things that we behold on a regular and continuous basis. (Romans 12:1-2)

So let me ask again in the context of this email, can you name the Ten Commandments?

Review for January 17

user@domain.com — 2010-01-17T19:26:07-05:00

We live in a culture of self-image, self-worth and self-esteem. I personally for 22 plus years was involved in the saturation of information that taught “anything the man of man can conceive and believe, he can achieve. But the Bible doesn’t talk about self-esteem and yet the pages are filled with God-esteem. Therefore as we come to our continued study in Bible doctrine we are now looking closely at the “self-sufficiency of God.” And specifically this morning we looked at Isaiah 40. Again as I have said in previous articles as you study see if you can define the doctrine, give an illustration and finally support it from the Bible. Next week the plan is to read and study from Psalm 50 and Acts 17. Please read the notes from the teaching session this morning. As we concluded I wasn’t able to develop the meaning of Isaiah 40:17. But in the notes included it should be very clear what the author meant when he wrote this verse. The self-sufficiency of God is critical for us to understand in getting a proper Biblical understanding regarding things like; prayer, evangelism, tithing, and serving. Hope to see you next week as we continue to learn and live the God-centered life.

Sbs Class January 17 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

Praying for Haiti

user@domain.com — 2010-01-16T10:58:35-05:00

Tomorrow in class we will have an update from Don and Sonia regarding Haiti and a time of prayer. Please be in prayer specifically for the teachers, families and students at the school we support in Haiti through Don and Sonia’s ministry. Also I have included here a recent article for prayer needs and update in general that is from the president of the Baptist Haiti Mission.

This is an update from Phil Johnson’s blog site on January 15;

Ron Pierre, board president for Baptist Haiti Mission, sends this update,
Prayer Requests following Haiti's Earthquake
Many of you are asking what the big prayer items are so that you can share these with your churches this upcoming Sunday. Here are some ways you can support us through prayer.

That God would work in the hearts of the people and that many would come to know Him through this tragedy.
Wisdom to know how to start helping the many who are hurt, without food and water or without shelter.
Safety as we receive supplies and start to distribute them. There is always a concern that we could be the target of mobbing if they know we have lots of supplies.
That God would miraculously supply the needed diesel, water and food that we need. Our hospital needs the generator to keep it running, so diesel is a huge need.
That the medical team scheduled to arrive on Tuesday would be able to arrive without any troubles and with all their supplies.
For strength for the hospital staff, missionaries, and all those involved in the relief efforts to continue day by day.
Thank you so much for your prayers. We are continually seeing God at work and we know that He is answering prayers.

The heavens declare the glory of God

user@domain.com — 2010-01-16T08:18:18-05:00

This morning I was up early to let out the dogs. Immediately when I saw the sky I rushed back in the house to get my camera. For several minutes after the picture I just stared at the majesty, and beauty of the sky in all its incredible radiance. During those precious moments at no time was I thinking about my self esteem, self importance, or self image. There was only a focus on what I was beholding before my eyes which was the magnificence of the sky. And when I came in it hit me and this is why I am writing this blog. The sky in this picture is merely a pointer or you could say a foreshadowing of the glory of God. We read in Psalm 19:1 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God...” As I was thinking about those minutes it was if God was saying if you think this is grand, spectacular, awesome, beautiful and glorious just wait until that day when all my glory will be fully revealed. When we are captivated by God’s greatness and glory He become big and we become small. And as John the Baptist declares in John 3:30 and this is a great reminder for all of us in our study of the doctrine of God “He must increase and I must decrease.”

Principles for genuine confession

user@domain.com — 2010-01-15T17:44:10-05:00

Occasionally I find articles that will help emphasize some Bible doctrines we have covered or will cover in the future. This deals specifically in the area of sin and we will cover when we get to the doctrine of sin. But I couldn’t resist when I read this principles for genuine confession.

From Peacemakers Ministries:

As God opens your eyes to see how you have sinned against others, he simultaneously offers you a way to find freedom from your past wrongs. It is called confession. Many people have never experienced this freedom because they have never learned how to confess their wrongs honestly and unconditionally. Instead, they use words like these: “I’m sorry if I hurt you.” “Let’s just forget the past.” “I suppose I could have done a better job.” “I guess it’s not all your fault.” These token statements rarely trigger genuine forgiveness and reconciliation. If you really want to make peace, ask God to help you breathe grace by humbly and thoroughly admitting your wrongs. One way to do this is to use the Seven A’s.

1. Address everyone involved (All those whom you affected)
2. Avoid if, but, and maybe (Do not try to excuse your wrongs)
3. Admit specifically (Both attitudes and actions)
4. Acknowledge the hurt (Express sorrow for hurting someone)
5. Accept the consequences (Such as making restitution)
6. Alter your behavior (Change your attitudes and actions)
7. Ask for forgiveness

See Matthew 7:3-5; 1 John 1:8-9; Proverbs 28:13.

Class study curriculum for 2010

user@domain.com — 2010-01-15T07:48:55-05:00

I know some of this has been explained before, but allow me to cover again as we fully launch into 2010. The first discipline that I am encouraging each person in our class to accomplish is reading through the entire Bible. Some people have come to me and indicated they need specific steps and homework assignments for our class. In this email I am going to list those for you as I am teaching through Bible doctrine.

Assignment #1 - Read through the entire Bible. We are presently reading through a 52 week Bible reading plan that gives a specific section of Bible reading on a daily basis.
So for the person that wants to know, what is the homework for the day, I first want to point them to Bible reading plan. Recent church statistics show that over 90% of those within the church have not read through the Bible at least one time. It is harder to teach when there is not an understanding of the Scriptures as a whole. One of the key components the church is missing today in Bible study is being able to see the big picture connection from Genesis to Revelation. In the first month of our class we covered many different aspects of the Bible. One morning I asked the class, "who is the author of Genesis?" Someone spoke up and said "Moses" to which I replied "that is correct."
Then I repeated the question a different way and asked "who is the real Author of Genesis?" At that point someone else spoke up and said "the Holy Spirit" to which I replied "that is correct." So even though the Bible is composed of 66 books with over 40 different authors, there is one mind and one Author that is connecting it all together.
Therefore we should ask questions and know things like; how is Genesis connected to Revelation, Job to Romans, 1 Samuel to Luke? Getting the overall big picture of the Bible is like putting together a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. We have all learned that the best way to put together this kind of puzzle in to find all the border pieces first. But not only that, we need to have a picture of the box top. By reading the Bible over and over you are getting the picture of the box top and as you learn Bible doctrine that starts to set the border pieces in place. Over the years I have found many in the church don't understand the following two big picture items in regard to the Bible;
1. What is the overall theme of the entire Bible?
2. What is the overall organizing plan that God has set out from Genesis to Revelation?

Again as in the illustration of the jigsaw puzzle these two items above are like the box top. As you read and re-read the Bible you will start to develop a solid understanding as to the unity of the Scriptures. I am a proponent of exegetical Bible study in which you study individual books of the Bible. But I have found it most helpful instead of picking up a piece of the puzzle and observing it and studying each of the aspects of the puzzle piece, we need to have a good picture of the box top that we study first.

A car trip, worship and the glory of God

user@domain.com — 2010-01-14T09:05:51-05:00

This past week, on Monday to be exact, Pat, Dan Miller and I went to Lifeway Conference Center in Asheville. The purpose of the trip was to meet with our retreat representative and to finalize the details of our upcoming retreat. During our 3 hours in the car together we covered a number of topics as they relate to the Bible.
Overall our discussion was grouped into two main categories. On the way to Asheville we primarily covered the topic of evangelism. What does it look like in a practical way? How did Jesus evangelize? And are we able to do in a way that is consistent with Scripture? On the way back to Charlotte the topic primarily covered was discipleship. We discussed the great commission from Matthew 28:19 and that led to a great brainstorming session about what that looks like in each of our lives.
I think if you asked Pat, Dan or myself as to what was the main topic of our three hour car ride collectively we would answer "Jesus Christ." In essence what we had was a three hour worship time together. And here from a purely Scriptural perspective is what was happening both as we discussed evangelism and discipleship;
1. Christ was being honored by the reading and discussion of the Scriptures
2. The Holy Spirit was revealing, guiding and disclosing to each of us these truths about Jesus
3. As we studied and discussed Christ of the word, the Spirit empowered, and God was getting the glory

Review for January 10

user@domain.com — 2010-01-10T16:17:58-05:00

We are not trying just to get through the doctrine curriculum in this class but rather get the doctrine curriculum through us. One of my goals as we launch into 2010 is be sure that you know the tools available from our website. We only have 45-50 minutes on Sunday, so the design of the teaching is to provide resources that can help you learn during the week what was taught on Sunday. Unfortunately I have been negligent in teaching the “how to” when it comes to these tools. Therefore the first two weeks of January have been mostly dedicated to website management.
The three core disciplines that have been stressed from day one are:

Bible Reading
Bible Study
Bible Devotion

So the website is organized around those disciplines in a way that can help each person in our class do this during the week. And this leads right into our class mission statement which is;
“We exist as a community to spread a passion for Christ in such a way that His word becomes the food and daily nourishment for learning and living the God-centered life.
A life in which we are transformed by the power of the Spirit, by seeing the face of God in the Lord Jesus Christ!”

As the Bible is read with prepared hearts, the Spirit reveals, leads and guides us into all truth regarding Jesus Christ, which in turn transforms us so that we might manifest the glory of God in our thoughts, words and actions. Can you imagine a class of people, a church of people, a community of people that as Christ honoring, Spirit empowered and God honoring? You might read that and say impossible and to that I would reply, “for man it is impossible but through God all things are possible.”

I mentioned this morning that last week was encouraging because of several stories I heard about personal discipleship. And that is why I decided to do some study on the word “disciple” this week.

The greatest commandment...

user@domain.com — 2010-01-09T08:38:43-05:00

The Bible reading for today is Mark 11-12. If you are reading from the NASB translation you see that the text is written in ALL CAPS that means it comes from the Old Testament. In Mark 12 the Lord Jesus is asked by one of the scribes "Which commandment is the most important of all." Jesus has no problem with the question and He certainly has no problem with the answer. The answer Jesus gives comes straight from Deuteronomy 6:5 which says “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And here will be my first point that I consider critical to your devotion time. Find the verse in the Old Testament and read it in the greater context of the paragraph in order to get a better understanding of the meaning. In this case I would suggest you read Deuteronomy 6:1-9. I am appealing for you to read it and see if you agree with my interpretation. Again, I exhort you to be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11) who took the Scriptures and compared them against everything that Paul taught.

First of all can you imagine the depth of teaching that Jesus had and that he could offer to His disciples. But as one of my Bible teachers once said to me "the gospel is simplicity through great complexity." So the Lord Jesus has no problem going right to the bottom line and giving this scribe the most important commandment of them all. And according to Jesus Himself it is “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Notice that has everything to do with a person's vertical relationship with God. Please don't move past that point too quickly because that is exactly why we are getting so saturated in the "doctrine of God."

If someone were to approach me from outside our class at Carmel, and ask me "why are you teaching on the doctrine of God." My answer would come in a three-fold statement. Part 1 would sound like the following; so that we as the people of God might love the LORD our God with all our heart and soul and with all our might." Part 2 of the answer would incorporate the second most important command. We are learning the doctrine of God because as we know Him more and love Him more in our vertical relationship this will transcend into us loving our neighbors as ourselves. Part 3 of the answer will be the ultimate purpose of the entire Bible which is once you have a community of people with the proper vertical relationship, that works itself out in the proper horizontal relationships, what manifests is the "glory of God" in the life of those people.

Quote for the day

user@domain.com — 2010-01-08T14:03:59-05:00

Our supreme need, our only need, is to know God, the living God, and the power of his might. We need nothing else. It is just that, the power of the living God, to know that the living God is among us and that nothing else matters…I say, forget everything else. Forget everything else. We need to realize the presence of the living God amongst us. Let everything else be silent. This is no time for minor differences. We all need to know the touch of the power of the living God. - Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"Go and make disciples"

user@domain.com — 2010-01-08T10:39:21-05:00

We in the orthodox church have come to know Matthew 28:19 as the “great commission.” Here is how it reads;
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

Did you know that there is only one verb in the sentence above and it is in the imperative mood, which means the mood of command. It is not the word “GO” that is a participle and it is not the word “BAPTIZING” that also is a participle. The word in the Greek, that is a verb written in the imperative mood is “MAKE DISCIPLES.” In my study I think a good layman’s definition for the word disciple is a learner of Jesus. You could translate the word as teach or instruct and therefore you could define as a teacher of Jesus or an instructor of Jesus. As a matter of fact the KJV uses the word “teach” in the place of “make disciples.” Here we have one of the last things Jesus gives to His disciples in the way of instruction before His ascension. And yet today I it seems to be NOT the great commission but instead the great omission.

Let’s do a little word study on the word “disciple” from the New Testament. Two primary Greek words for disciple in the New Testament are as follows;

matheteuo (Strong’s number 3100)
mathetes (Strong’s number 3101)

Take our your Strong’s Concordance or a Bible study software and count the number of occurrences of these words in the New Testament. According to my study it comes to 269 times.
Now let’s break it down to the number of times these words occur in the gospels as opposed to the epistles and Revelation.

Matthew-Acts - Number of times disciple occurs 269 times
Romans-Revelation - Number of times disciple occurs 0 times

There is another word for disciple in the New Testament and it is the Greek word “manthano” and it’s Strong’ number is 3129. Here is the breakdown for this word.

Matthew-Acts - Number of times disciple occurs 7 times
Romans-Revelation - Number of times disciple occurs 17 times

If we take all 3 uses of the word for disciple and total them here are the final results;
Matthew-Acts - number of times words for disciple occur - 276 times
Romans-Revelation - number of times words for disciple occur - 17 times

Total number of occurrences from Matthew-Revelation - 293 times

Are you Biblically desperate?

user@domain.com — 2010-01-06T09:10:33-05:00

Good morning, hope everyone is off to a good start in this new year. Over the past 18 months you have heard me continue to exhort you back to God's word so that God's word can get back into you. Hopefully you have been around me long enough to know the difference between a "duty" mentality when it comes to Bible reading, study, and devotions and a "delight" mentality. If someone asks me how I have approached the Bible over my years in ministry, my answer is with a constant and continuous prayer of desperation. Almost every morning when my eyes open and before my feet hit the floor, I am asking God to make me desperate for His word that day. Here are some verses that support that kind of prayer and attitude when it comes to our Bible study time.
Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.

Psalm 1:1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Here is what I have learned over the years from the church fathers that have gone before us. At this point I am specifically thinking of George Mueller just to name one that I know just a litte. Turn the verses into prayer before you start to read the Bible that morning. In other words find any number of verses like those I have listed above and pray to God the Father these very things.

Coming January 17

user@domain.com — 2010-01-05T10:55:10-05:00

This is a note from Karen Sheats
Happy New Year! Wow has it been cold. What better way to warm up than with comfort food!

January 17th 12:15 - Uptown Auditorium - Chili Cook off.

A sign up sheet will be in this Sunday's books - if you're not going to be there and want to sign up - e-mail me. What to bring: Sign up to bring Chili or a side to compliment Chili, like corn bread, warm fresh bread, salad or perhaps you'd like to bring a dessert. I would also like to know if you can help set up and/or break down. I will need a head count so that I know how many tables, chairs, drinks etc. to set up for. Hope to see you soon.

Website management and Devotions

user@domain.com — 2010-01-04T09:43:04-05:00

Yesterday's class had a two fold theme. First, many people within the church today simply don't read God's word consistently. Second, part of the design of our class is to provide tools to encourage and educate people on how to do it. Pat and I have learned a valuable lesson over the last year as it relates to those in our class. Many don't understand nor have they been utilizing the tools available though the website. Please don't hear this as a criticism of the class but an observation that we came to at the conclusion of 2009. If anything I am being critical of myself in only pointing people toward the website but not providing the "how to" in taking advantage of this resource.
At the end of our class yesterday here are a sampling of comments from those who talked with me;
"I had no idea that the website provided these tools"
"Would you take more time to show us how to utilize blueletterBible.org and how we can look up and understand Greek verbs"
"Thank you for again offending me with your exhortations to get back to God's word"
"I have gone to the website on a casual basis but now I am starting to understand how to use if for Bible study"
This kind of immediate feedback just reaffirmed the need for those in our to know how to access the tools in our website that can aid them in Bible reading, study and devotions.

The Bible reading for Saturday was Mark 9-10. I combine my Bible reading with my Bible devotion time. Therefore when I got to Mark 9:14-29 I started to slow down and have a time of devotion. It doesn't take long but one of the most helpful things especially in the gospels is to go and read the parallel account of the event from other gospel writers.
In this case I went to Bible Gateway and utilized the "lookup multiple passages" option. And I plugged in the following verses;

Mark 9:14-29
Matt 17:14-19
Luke 9:37-42

Here is an observation from just looking at those multiple passages.

The context for this particular text is Jesus is coming down with Peter, James and John from the mountain where He has been transfigured. And when they come to the bottom of the mountain a father confronts Jesus with his demon possessed son. Now I want you to notice what Matthew indicates the father says in each of the accounts;
Matthew 17:16 "I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him."
Luke 9:40 "I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not."

Review from January 3

user@domain.com — 2010-01-03T14:10:16-05:00

This morning we launched in the 2010 year with a up close and personal look at the tools available for Bible reading, study and devotion. Pat and I have talked over the past year about how to encourage people to visit and use the class website. We both agreed it would be a good investment of class time for me to give a detailed tour of how to utilize the tools we have available. Also I took the first part of our class time to explore “WHY PEOPLE DON’T READ THE BIBLE.”

Sbs Class January 3 2010

View more presentations from BertBrim.

If you want to print out the notes from a pdf file then simply click on this LINK

The direction of "youth ministry" in America

user@domain.com — 2010-01-02T07:08:47-05:00

This blog site is primarily dedicated to the teaching and training resources as they relate to the study of Bible doctrine. However at times I sense the need to include other articles from those who are making accurate Biblical observations regarding the evangelical church in America. This particular article deals with “youth ministry” and where it has been heading over the last several decades. As one who teaches in the adult ministries of a large Baptist church someone might ask “what does this guy know about youth ministry?” Well, as the former senior pastor of a small start up church I had the opportunity to hire and work closely with two youth pastors. This resulted in many hours of discussion regarding the training and equipping of young people in this culture for Christ. Also the discussions always seemed to gravitate back to the home, and the role of the parents as to the spiritual training of the children. When I would talk to our youth pastors the general evaluation of the kids was a lack of Bible knowledge, little to no Bible reading or devotion time, and an overall luke warm relationship with Christ. Upon closer inspection it became clear that Bible teaching, devotions, and prayer from the parents were not a consistent part of daily life within the home. It almost seemed to us that the parents had decided to outsource the spiritual development and training of their children to the youth ministry. Of course I am speaking in general terms but overall “youth ministry” in America is a holding tank to entertain and attract the masses, rather than to disciple in terms of self-denial, take up your cross and follow Christ. Hey folks when you have statistics that can verify less than 5% of adults have read through the Bible one time, then ask how might this translate down to the children in the home.

Therefore when I saw this recent blog post at CrossTalk I made a note and decided to post it today. This is hard hitting and for some it may even get you a bit upset. But I would ask that you evaluate the information in full before you have a knee jerk reaction. I have given you several links that can be helpful to check out as you read this particular article. We as the people of God need to be aware of what “youth ministry” is doing as it relates to the spiritual development of our children. But more importantly we need as parents to look squarely in the mirror and ask “what am I doing to train up my child in God’s word?”

Here is the article from CrossTalk:
Scott Brown made headlines at a recent conference for calling evangelical youth ministry today “unbiblical.” Scott Brown is right on target.

Something to consider for 2010

user@domain.com — 2010-01-01T09:49:00-05:00

First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR! I was reflecting on the 2010 year as against when we started this class in August of 2008. Can you believe that we have been together for a year and four months? Time flies when you are studying Bible doctrine as a community.

The beginning of each new year is an excellent time to take a spiritual inventory of your life. May I encourage you to take a few minutes to reflect on these questions this week.

Do you have a rich, vibrant, passionate and growing relationship with Jesus Christ?
What is the relationship that you have with God's word in regard to reading, studying and devotion time?
Are those closest to you seeing Christ when they hear your words and when they observe your behavior?
Where is there sin in your life that is known or tolerated that you need to deal with and confess?
Do you love God based on Him making much of you, or do you love God because at the cost of His Son, He has made a way for you to make much of Him?

The natural tendency especially for American Christians is to say OK this year I am going to do something different. Then the list comes out, maybe not literally but things like;

I am going to read through the Bible
I am going to financially give more
I am going to serve in the church
I am going to pray
I am going to have devotion time with my wife or family
I am going to become involved in Bible study
I am going to attend SS class consistently
I am going to be more intentional to evangelize in my neighborhood and workplace
I am going to disciple someone